Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Life Quality Resources offers you the opportunity to get help for your PTSD with two experienced clinicians in the field of PTSD recovery and a variety of treatment options. Both Dr. Dan Chartier and Dr. Lucy Chartier have had tremendous success with helping PTSD patients reduce their emotional discomfort and regain a sense of calm in order to take control of their lives once again.

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A typical treatment at Life Quality Resources will concentrate on:

• Coping Strategies

• Managing Stress and Anxiety

• Relaxation Techniques

• Neurotransmitter Balance

• Biofeedback/Neurofeedback

• Nexalin Advanced Therapy

• Nutrition

• Medication Management (for adults over 18)

 

About PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after experiencing a severe trauma or life-threatening event. After experiencing the event, you may feel scared, anxious, confused, or angry. If these feelings persist and begin disrupting your daily life, you may be experiencing PTSD.

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Some of the common life-threatening events that lead to PTSD include:

• Combat exposure

• Sexual or physical assault

• Natural disaster experiences (earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, etc.)

• Automobile accidents

• Childhood sexual or physical abuse

• Terrorist Attack

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Feelings of helplessness, extreme fear, and terrifying nightmares are usually associated with the after effects of the traumatic event. Strong emotions that are triggered by the event can cause changes in your neurochemistry that are thought to be at least partly responsible for the development of PTSD.

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The likelihood of developing PTSD after a traumatic event depends on several factors:

• Intensity and duration of the trauma

• If you lost a loved one in the event

• How much control you felt during the event

• How close you were to the event

• The amount of support you get after the event

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Many people with PTSD see improvement in their condition over time with the appropriate treatment. If your condition doesn’t improve with time, treatment can still help you cope with the symptoms of PTSD. At Life Quality Resources, we will help you address your fear and find your path to freedom from that fear. You don’t have to continue down that same road of debilitating anxiety that disrupts your life.

 

Symptoms
The symptoms of PTSD can dramatically affect your everyday life, making work, family, and relationships harder to maintain. Just getting through the day can seem like a struggle. These symptoms usually begin soon after the event occurs, but some symptoms may take months or years to develop. The symptoms are unpredictable too, as they may disappear and reappear over the years.

There are four types of symptoms that are commonly reported with PTSD sufferers. If any of these symptoms last longer than 4 weeks, cause you distress, and interfere with your daily life, it is probable that you have PTSD.

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Reliving the event or “Re-experience” – Often referred to as a flashback, re-experience can send you into a state where you feel as if you are actually in the event again, feeling the same horror that you felt the first time that you experienced it. Often times this can be triggered by a sound or sight of something similar to an aspect of the event such as a car accident, a backfiring motor on a car, or a news report that reminds you of the traumatic event.

Avoidance of the event – Often times PTSD sufferers completely avoid talking or even thinking about the traumatic event to suppress anxiety triggers. This symptom can lead some people with PTSD to avoid treatment and the help they need to cope with or alleviate the suffering.

Numbing emotions – Finding it hard to express feelings and enjoying others company is common among PTSD sufferers. You may find little interest in activities that you once enjoyed, and establishing new relationships may be difficult as well.

Hyper-arousal – You may feel jittery and keyed up, and seemingly always looking out for danger that may be present around you. This symptom can cause other life issues to develop such as sleep disorders, anger problems, and concentration issues.

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There are other troubling issues that PTSD can play a role in causing such as substance or alcohol abuse, unemployment, depression, domestic issues (abuse or divorce), and violence towards others or yourself. If gone untreated, these symptoms are more likely to appear and cause you and your family years of pain and distress.