What Are the Four Stages of PTSD?

We often hear about PTSD in movies and television. Yet, they don’t always depict reality. For those living with PTSD in the real world, there is much to learn about how to get help and heal. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a genuine mental health disorder. Those suffering from it can experience effects that make life hard to handle. Here is more about what causes it, how to seek help, and the four stages of PTSD.

What Is PTSD and How Do You Get It?

Before discussing the four stages of PTSD, it is helpful to know more about what it is and how someone gets it.

What Is PTSD?

PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder. It happens to those who have experienced severe trauma. Yet while many believe it is for those who have been in combat or work as a first responder, anyone can get it, including children. Yes, the numbers are higher for the two groups mentioned, but it affects many.

Those with PTSD have life-altering symptoms. These include intrusive thoughts and flashbacks. Some have nightmares or develop more serious, long-term effects. These could be:

• Substance or alcohol abuse.
• Self-harm.
• Lashing out at others.
• Trying to please others at the cost of your own mental health.

Other long-term effects include health issues like sleep disorders and eating disorders. PTSD is a serious disorder that requires treatment, and we can help.

It is important to note that while post-traumatic stress disorder has a direct correlation to a traumatic event; it happens indirectly as well. Examples include events like hearing of a death of someone close or dealing with trauma daily.

How Do You Get It?

Contrary to what you see in the media, anyone can experience PTSD through a variety of direct and non-direct events and trauma. In fact, According to the National Center for PTSD:

Approximately 60% of men and 50% of women experience trauma at least once in their lifetime.

As you can see, those numbers are alarming and quite high. And while not everyone develops post-traumatic stress disorder from this trauma, some do. Up to 8% of them suffer with PTSD. And many find it difficult to explain to those who aren’t aware. It is imperative for those with PTSD to seek help. This is a mental health disorder that affects many aspects of a person’s life.

Who gets PTSD? There is an extensive list of how a person can experience trauma that leads to this mental health disorder. Along with those in combat or front-line workers, there are other ways.

• Sexual assault.
• A natural disaster.
• Death of someone close.
• Witnessing a traumatic event.
• A violent personal assault.
• A serious accident.
• Repeated abuse.

These examples do not cover all ways a person experiences trauma, but it showcases those that can lead to PTSD.

The Four Stages of PTSD

While you may be familiar with the term, there is more to PTSD. You may even know who gets it and why. But few realize how this disorder takes place and what it involves. There are four stages of PTSD, each with its own distinct attributes.

Impact Stage

Also known as the emergency stage, this is right after the event causing trauma. The person may be in shock or struggling to accept what has happened. Some experience guilt or hypervigilance. A good example is someone surviving a major natural disaster. Even if they had losses or personal injury, they may feel guilt about not having more loss. Some feel guilty for surviving when others did not. Many people think of those who see combat or those in first responder categories. This is true, yet others have the same struggles.

Denial Stage

This stage is not one-size-fits-all since some with PTSD do not experience the denial stage. Those who do face unique challenges. They may have powerful emotions yet feel the need to distance themselves from the event. Those who are more vulnerable are those who use numbing behavior like drugs or alcohol.

Short-Term Recovery Stage

This is where the person with PTSD tries to move on and attempt to live life normally.. There are two ways this stage plays out. Either the person with PTSD will get help, or they will become more discouraged and disenchanted. This stage may seem like it puts the person on the mend, but this is when some experience intrusive thoughts and/or nightmares.

Long-Term Recovery Stage

During this stage, the person with PTSD carries on with life. They may seek treatment to mitigate some effects of PTSD. Yet, some will still experience negative things like nightmares, flashbacks, or anxiety. They need support. Whether it’s from family and friends or professional treatment, they can live life better than when they were experiencing the other stages of PTSD.

Help for PTSD

According to NIMH, there are four symptoms needed for an official diagnosis. These include the following, and the patient must have these for a minimum of one month.

1. One or more re-experiencing symptoms.
2. One or more avoidance symptoms.
3. Two or more mood and cognition symptoms.
4. Two or more reactivity and arousal symptoms.

The good thing to keep in mind is that there is relief from the symptoms. Professional treatment focuses on different treatment methods to minimize effects of PTSD. One of the common treatment methods is cognitive behavioral therapy. In this type of treatment, we use psychotherapy to help alter negative emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. This helps change the thought patterns of those with PTSD and may help you lead a more healing life. Cognitive behavioral therapy identifies the thoughts harming your healing and overcomes these thoughts with different strategies.

Other treatment methods include:

• Prolonged exposure therapy.
• Stress inoculation therapy.
• Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).

The type of treatment for you is unique. Not everyone is the same, and therefore, not everyone excels with the same therapy. The important thing is to get help. Reach out to us so we can help you learn more about healing from PTSD.