If you think you have post-traumatic stress disorder or are experiencing nightmares or anxiety related to a traumatic event, seek help . But treatment must usually be customized for each patient, says Dr. Barry Tanner, Detroit Receiving Hospital's chief psychologist and director of the hospital's Life Stress Center. The center treats people diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as well as those who are experiencing symptoms but do not fit the psychiatric definition. We use talking therapy and combinations of hypnosis, biofeedback and other techniques to fit the therapy to the needs of the individual. We want them not to forget the experience but to be able to put it in the past.
Many psychiatrists also use medication to treat the disorder.
The widely used antidepressant, Zoloft, became the nation's first drug approved to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in December. If possible, seek help for symptoms as soon as you recognize them. The disorder is infinitely easier to treat early in the process, says Dr. Sandy Koltonow, an emergency medicine physician with William Beaumont Hospital who has a psychology practice in Birmingham. The simplest thing people can do is to have people in your life that you can trust and get support from. The simple act of talking with friends and peers can help tremendously.