What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition usually triggered by the endurance of a terrifying or traumatic event in life. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, panic attacks, erratic behavior, and uncontrollable and rapidly cycling thoughts about the event. PTSD Hawaii treatments can be particularly effective, given the spectacular nature of the islands and the world class councilors at Exclusive Hawaii.
PTSD most frequently occurs after a single traumatic event, but it can also occur after repeated traumas over time. PTSD can develop immediately after the endurance of trauma – common examples responsible for the onset of PTSD are military combat, severe road traffic accidents, or emotional and physical abuse – or it can develop weeks or even months afterward.
Is PTSD Rare?
The disorder is a fairly common one. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), approximately 7 to 8 percent of people will experience a degree of PTSD at some point in their lives. It affects around 7.7 million American adults each year, and women are considered more likely than men to develop the condition after enduring a traumatic ordeal. The risk of developing PTSD is also said to increase if you have a close friend or family member who has been affected by traumatic experiences of their own.
The American Psychiatric Association recommends that people with PTSD receive treatment as soon as possible after their symptoms begin.
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What are the Signs of PTSD?
Several signs are indicative of someone experiencing PTSD to one degree or another. The list below includes some of the most common symptoms. Keep in mind that the symptoms explored below are neither exhaustive nor taken in isolation, indicative of a guaranteed case of PTSD. Only a qualified mental health expert can determine what a person is going through.
- Reliving the experience – People who have experienced a traumatic event often continually relive or replay the event. This can manifest in a manner of ways. Firstly, flashbacks are memories or thoughts of the possibility that can often occur without warning and can cause the person to feel like they are reliving the trauma. They may also experience severe nightmares or night terrors. These are a step above your average scary dream and are usually massively intense for those going through it.
- Avoidance – A common sign of PTSD can be avoidance behaviors. Typically, any situation, place, person, or object associated with, no matter how directly or indirectly, may act as a trigger and thus be avoided. The person experiencing PTSD will go out of their way to avoid encountering or engaging with the motivation; the trauma may also result in the development of severe anxiety, even in persons who previously did not struggle with the condition.
- Negative Thoughts – People with PTSD often report feeling numb, disconnected from others and even themselves, and encountering trouble remembering important parts of the traumatic event. They may also feel guilty about things they did or did not do during the traumatic event that may have prevented or lessened it. Guilt, depression, numbness, and low self-esteem can all be markers of a person experiencing PTSD.
- Hyperarousal – One of the most common symptoms of PTSD is a state of constant hyperarousal. This can manifest as chronic insomnia, oversensitivity, a form of being easily startled constantly, and heightened irritability.
Who Suffers From PTSD?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that up to 30 percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan experience PTSD at some point in their lives. However, it’s important to note that not all people who have PTSD have been through traumatic events such as combat. Anyone who experiences a highly traumatizing event can develop PTSD.
PTSD Occurs Frequently in Civilian Populations
The risk of developing PTSD increases if you have experienced or witnessed violence and abuse in childhood, if you were injured during an event (even if it wasn’t your fault), have a current mental health problem like depression or anxiety disorders, or were exposed to intense stress in childhood (this can include emotional manipulation and abuse as well)—persons subject to sexual abuse, including but not limited to rape, experience severe PTSD.
The truth is that any situation that causes highly elevated stress levels can result in a degree of PTSD. One topical example is the COVID-19 Pandemic. The plain fact is that we all have, to wildly varying degrees of severity based on our personal experiences, a level of trauma from this experience as a global community.
What Are Effective Ways of Treating PTSD?
There are many different types of treatments that can help people with PTSD. The best treatment depends on the person, symptoms, and unique situation. As with most forms of trauma and mental health issues, there is no “one-size fits all” solution that can present itself.
Because the standard of mental health care available at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab is exceptionally high, a sample treatment plan for PTSD will consist of a combination of the following proven and effective treatment programs and processes.
- Psychotherapy – The most common treatment for PTSD is psychotherapy (also called “talk therapy”). Psychotherapy in PTSD cases would involve talking with a therapist to explore the traumatic event, how it affected you, and what you can do to move past it. The process of unpacking the trauma, processing it, and repacking it is critical. Several different types of psychotherapy have been shown to work well for PTSD:
- Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) – CPT teaches you how to identify and change negative thoughts about the traumatic event so that the power they have in your life now or in the future is minimized as much as possible.
- Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) – PE helps you confront your fears by having you imagine or re-live what happened during a traumatic event over and over again until it theoretically no longer causes anxiety.
- Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) – EMDR combines conventional talk therapy with eye movements or other forms of stimulation while focusing on memories from a traumatic event.
- Medication – Medications may be recommended to help ease the more severe symptoms of PTSD. These can include antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. Antidepressants generally take a few weeks before they start working, and should you not respond well to one medication, your doctor may try another one until you find one that works for you.
PTSD Inpatient Treatment in Hawaii
Inpatient treatment programs refer to any scheme of treatment that requires the patient reside in the facility for the duration of the program. This is usually a reasonably intense process that involves around-the-clock medical and psychological supervision and monitoring and interventions.
It isn’t for everyone, but when it comes to PTSD, in some cases, it can be necessary and life-saving. Certain persons are experiencing PTSD on such an enormous magnitude, with symptoms that are so unbearable that an inpatient stay is the only realistic solution.
Because PTSD has a host of associated conditions that can trigger in persons, including depression and anxiety, sometimes a dual diagnosis is necessary. For instance, a person may be diagnosed with PTSD and depression and thus need to be treated for both conditions. Severe cases of PTSD may result in persons being unable to function in society, harmful to others, or even harmful to themselves. In these cases, an inpatient stay with medical experts leading the road to recovery can be an important choice.
Is PTSD Treatment Covered by Insurance in Hawaii?
The short answer: it depends on your carrier and policy details. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), PTSD is now regarded as a valid and covered mental health issue and condition. Hawaii currently accepts Medicaid, which covers PTSD treatment to some degree or another. Ultimately, whether or not your insurance covers PTSD treatment depends on your specific insurance policy and what it allows for or covers and which facility you seek treatment at in Hawaii. What insurance policies are accepted varies from facility to facility. The process of figuring it out is not highly complicated, and a high-quality facility would be more than willing to assist and walk you through getting to the bottom of it.
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Our deeply-caring staff and the surrounding natural beauty offer an unparalleled healing experience.
Find Lasting Recovery from PTSD at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab
PTSD is debilitating. Experiencing trauma in and of itself can be a destabilizing event. The symptoms of reliving the event in a feedback loop can completely steal the joy or will to live from a person. No more. Life beyond the PTSD. That is what we are looking forward to with you at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab. Our process begins with a compassionate and complete consultation, where we learn just what you’ve been through, and how we can best help you process and pass through the traumatic experience(s).
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Then, one of our dedicated expert staff will work to craft a custom treatment program for you, comprising all the relevant and proven techniques for treating PTSD. The bottom line is that we are committed to ensuring that you are ready and capable of living life when you exit our facility, free of the burdens that weighed you down so thoroughly.
Our history and record speak to our experience and expertise. If you have been in despair, you can rest assured knowing there is hope! Feel free to contact us today for more information on any of our services or consultation.