New Year New Healing for PTSD

 

A new year is almost here, and you might be thinking this is the time to get help for your PTSD. 

That's great! 

Let's talk about how to get help.

You may have heard some advice from others on how to handle your PTSD symptoms, but it might not have been very helpful. Most people don't mean any harm when they suggest things like "just exercise more" or "cut out gluten", but these are usually just their personal opinions or experiences, not actual solutions based on science.

Even blogs and books can be just someone's opinion. According to a study, there are 5,000 self-help books published every year, but only 5% of them have any research backing up their effectiveness. So how do we know what will actually work and what is just a random idea?

That's where Evidence Based Treatments come in.

Evidence-based treatments (EBTs) are based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence. This means that researchers have conducted rigorous studies using scientific methods, documented their extensive research in peer-reviewed publications (such as medical journals), and then other researchers conduct additional scientific studies to see if the treatment is, in fact, successful. 

There are three EBTs approved by the VA for treatment of PTSD at this time: Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) - and the data are clear: they work. There are other EBTs for PTSD, but, because these three are supported by the VA, they tend to be widely available. Moreover, the data indicate that they work for the long-haul. 

While exercising more and eating better is always a good idea, when it comes to beating your PTSD symptoms, EBTs are proven to work and they do so in about 12 sessions.  

Don't give up - get smart. You know "you” better than any treatment team and you deserve your breakthrough. Start your research journey and ask your treatment team for smart solutions. We can find an EBT provider through the Strong Star Provider Network at University of Texas Health Science Center or even through Psychology Today or Google. 

Have you tried an EBT? What worked for you? We value your feedback and ideas! Reach out on our Community Facebook Page!

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“If you believe change is possible, you want to change, and you are willing to do the work, you absolutely CAN get your life back.”

Get your copy of The Soldier's Guide to PTSD, The Soldier's Workbook, 

or Acknowledge & Heal, A Women's-Focused Guide to PTSD