Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

[mfashnik]

Hi,
Is PTSD usually caused by one particular incident OR if it can be a result of several smaller incidents that build up over time?

What would be the course of treeatment for a mild-moderate case?

Are there any particular foods to avoid that might aggrivate the condition?

Is therapy always necessary to treat this?

Thank you for your help

[drtom]

Post Tramatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is usually due to one traumatic event but it is not impossible for several events, as in war time, to come close together and worsen the condition. Treatment is variable, probably most people require no treatment at all but a lot of sufferers have intrusive thoughts and dreams and benefit from some sort of intervention. I am not a great fan of the counselling which goes over the traumatic event as this tends to reproduce the anxiety and fear that accompanied the initial trauma. I prefer the cognitive behavioural approach where negative thoughts are challenged and blocked. An even more attractive approach is to increase the positive thoughts and emotions in your brain to reduce the negative ones. However PTSD is classically intrusive and in many cases the whole episode has to be dealt with and put to bed in order for the individual to move forward. The key is to have this forward momentum and not to live in the past especially a negative past.

Dr Tom