What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often the lasting result of exposure to a traumatic or life-threatening event. Regardless of the traumatic event or memory you’ve experienced, the effects can last for months or even years and cause severe emotional distress.
Surprisingly, experiencing the event firsthand isn’t a prerequisite for a PTSD diagnosis. You might develop the disorder after learning of a traumatic event happening to a loved one or uncovering the details of a particularly traumatic event.
In any case, managing your PTSD symptoms can be tricky. What works for others might not be the best approach for you. Avesta Ketamine and Wellness offers IV ketamine infusions to reduce symptoms of PTSD by influencing your brain chemistry.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
PTSD symptoms can occur at random or in response to stimuli in your environment, called triggers. Your triggers can include sights, sounds, or objects. While your specific symptoms might be unique to you, the general symptoms of PTSD tend to occur in the following four categories:
Intrusion
Intrusive thoughts are common among PTSD patients. These include flashbacks, memories, and nightmares. Some can be so vivid that you feel like you’re back in the traumatic situation, even if it happened years ago.
Avoidance
Naturally, you may try to avoid events and objects that might trigger memories of your trauma. You might do everything you can to resist talking about it or remembering it.
Cognition and mood changes
Experiencing a traumatic event and resulting PTSD can affect your memory, cognition, and mood. Even if you attempt to remember your trauma, you might not be able to. You might also struggle to trust yourself or others or experience feelings of guilt or ongoing sadness.
Arousal and reaction changes
PTSD can cause you to react to people or events in a way that might seem irrational to others. Self-destructive behaviors are common, as are extreme caution, jumpiness, and trouble concentrating.
How does ketamine treat PTSD?
Ketamine works in your brain in several ways, which can help regulate emotions, responses to thoughts, and even your behaviors. As you undergo six initial 45-60 minute infusions, the ketamine increases a neurotransmitter called glutamate within your brain.
Glutamate helps regulate your thoughts and emotions. Additionally, it helps you build neural connections that can help you interpret your thoughts with new perspectives. These effects happen within hours of your treatment, and by the fourth or fifth time, you experience significant improvements.
You should continue with counseling and any other treatments for PTSD while you undergo your series of ketamine infusions. Depending on your results, your provider might recommend getting intermittent booster infusions at Avesta Ketamine and Wellness after the initial six.
Schedule your consultation for ketamine infusions to treat symptoms of PTSD by phone or online at either Avesta Ketamine and Wellness location today.
