I did a webinar this week for criminal justice professionals on compassion fatigue and secondary trauma. I told them about the symptoms of PTSD: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical or emotional reactivity. Then I asked, how many of you have experienced at least one of these symptoms?
The answer was 97%. In fact, 76% had experienced more than one symptom.
As I told them, not everyone who experiences or witnesses a traumatic event will develop PTSD, and not everyone with PTSD has to go to treatment for it. We are fortunate, though, to live in a time where there are many effective treatments for PTSD. I’ll list a few below. Most importantly, know that you can make changes for the better. It took a while to get to where you are and it may take a while to get to a different place. I think of it like turning a ship. If you try to turn it too quickly, it’ll break. But if you turn it slowly, one degree a day, you will soon end up on a very different trajectory. Good luck, and please reach out if I can help in any way.
You can read more about PTSD here:
PTSD Treatments
•Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
•Cognitive Processing Therapy
•Prolonged Exposure Therapy
•Dialectical Behavior Therapy
•EMDR
•Medication
•Alternative Therapies including psychedelics and acupuncture