Diagnosis+of+PTSD+And+Treatment

=__Diagnosis of PTSD__= Symptoms being within 3 months of traumatic incident, or can show later in the upcoming years. The symptoms must be continuous for the month. Psychiatrist and psychologist are qualified to diagnosis this illness. The following symptoms and more should occur to be considered with PTSD: =__Treatment__= The different options to help the individual coupe with PTSD are the following: 1 ** . Psychotherapy**:(talking to a mental health professional who has worked in the area of PTSD. Group or peer counseling, the individual talks with others who have experienced something similar with a professional monitoring the group. Sessions roughly take 6-12 weeks or can be extended depending on the person.)
 * One re-experiencing symptom (flash backs, frightening thoughts, bad dreams)
 * three avoidance symptoms (having trouble remembering the event, feeling strong guilt, worry or depression. Feeling emotionally numb.)
 * two hyper arousal symptoms (having difficulty sleeping, feeling tense)

2.**Cognitive behaviour therapy:** i) exposure therapy: to help face and control their fear. Examples can be revisiting the place of the event, or writing down the event. ii) cognitive restructuring: reframing or helping the client see they are not at fault. iii) stress inoculation training: teaching the person how to reduce the anxiety they feel.

3.**Medication:**
 * ** Antidepressants ** — Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants and several new antidepressants are used to treat chronic problems with anxiety, depression and irritability. SSRIs include sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and citalopram (Celexa). If an SSRI does not work, or you can't tolerate the side effects, your doctor may suggest one of the relatively new antidepressants, such as venlafaxine (Effexor), or one of the older tricyclic antidepressants, such as imipramine (Tofranil) and amitriptyline (Elavil).
 * ** Antianxiety drugs ** — Benzodiazepines are a family of medicines that work well in the treatment of anxiety, including the symptoms of PTSD. They include diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin) and lorazepam (Ativan). These drugs bring rapid relief from anxiety symptoms, but many are concerned that they can lead to drug dependence. As an alternative, doctors may prescribe the antianxiety drug buspirone (BuSpar). Buspirone takes longer to work than do benzodiazepines, but it may be safer for long-term use in certain patients.
 * ** Mood stabilizers ** — These medications also are used to treat mood problems. They are sometimes used alone and sometimes used in combination with antidepressants or antianxiety medications. Examples are valproic acid (Depakote) and lithium (sold under several brand names).
 * ** Adrenergic inhibitors  ** — These fall into two groups, the alpha-adrenergic agonists (for example, prazosin and clonidine) and beta-blockers (like propranolol and metoprolol). These medications alter nerve pathways that bring about the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as tremor or rapid heartbeat. Although theoretically such drugs may block symptoms of PTSD, controlled studies have not yet proven them to be effective at preventing the disorder.