One common question I am asked about PTSD is if it will ever go away. That often comes from a place of fear and exhaustion. The flashbacks and the feeling of constantly having to look over your shoulder are so draining. It makes perfect sense that people would wonder if they’ll ever be free of them.
Symptoms of PTSD
If you have experienced a traumatic event in your life, you may be experiencing the following symptoms. It is different for everyone, but you are likely dealing with several of the following:
Persistent fears
Irritability
Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy
Flashbacks of the traumatic event
Avoidance of things, people, places, or things that remind you of the trauma
Feeling dissociated or detached from your body as if things are not real
Difficulty concentrating or sleeping
Nightmares of the traumatic event
Withdrawal or social isolation
Feeling hypervigilant like you are always on guard
Risky or self-destructive behaviors such as substance abuse
Your symptoms will decrease through PTSD therapy
While the memory of the trauma that caused the PTSD won’t ever go away completely, the perception that someone has about that trauma can definitely change with treatment! PTSD like any other disorder has certain criteria that clients need to meet in order to be diagnosed. As clients move through therapy with clients, it’s very possible that as clients get better, they won’t meet the criteria that they once did. In that respect, PTSD does go away. The fewer symptoms you have of PTSD the less connected you’ll feel to the diagnosis.
PTSD will have less of a hold on you
On the other hand, some people do like to have that label and hang on to it. As you improve the hold PTSD has over your life will lessen. How you choose to define your symptoms down the road is a decision that you get to make. Some view surviving PTSD as a badge of honor and some can’t wait to shed the label. Your brain is a wonderful organ, and it can change! That is the greatest news of all. There are Houston, TX PTSD therapists who understand how PTSD works that would love to help you manage those PTSD symptoms to gain parts of your life back that trauma has stolen.
If you are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or other kinds of stress and would like to talk to a professional PTSD therapist, contact us online to schedule an appointment or call 713-565-0922 to ask questions about how we can help. PTSD treatment in Texas can help you if you are feeling stuck in past trauma, are suffering from anxiety or panic, and want to start feeling better right away. You don’t have to go through this alone!