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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffPost-traumatic stress disorder treatment can be very effective and help you regain a sense of control over your life. With successful post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, you can also feel better about yourself and learn ways to cope if any symptoms arise again.
Post-traumatic stress disorder treatment often includes both medications and psychotherapy. This combined approach can help improve your symptoms and teach you skills to cope better with the traumatic event and its aftermath.
Medications
Several types of medications can help symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder get better. Antidepressants can help symptoms of both depression and anxiety. They can also help improve sleep problems and improve your concentration. Anti-anxiety medications also can improve feelings of anxiety and stress.
If your symptoms include recurrent nightmares, a drug called prazosin may help. Prazosin, which has been used for years in the treatment of hypertension, also blocks the brain's response to an adrenaline-like brain chemical called norepinephrine. Prazosin can reduce or suppress nightmares in many people with PTSD.
Which medications are best for you depends on your specific symptoms and situation. You and your doctor must work together to find medications that work well and have the fewest side effects. It may take a few tries. But you may see an improvement in your mood and other symptoms within a few weeks. Be sure to tell your health care professional about any side effects or problems you have with the medications, as you may be able to try something different.
Psychotherapy
Several forms of therapy may be used to treat both children and adults with post-traumatic stress disorder. Which form is best for you depends on your symptoms and situation. You may try one type and then a different type of therapy, or combine elements of several. You may also try individual therapy, group therapy or both. Group therapy can offer a way to connect to others going through similar experiences.
Some types of therapy used in PTSD treatment include:
- Cognitive therapy. This type of talk therapy helps you identify and change self-destructive thought (cognitive) patterns.
- Exposure therapy. This behavioral therapy technique helps you safely confront the very thing that you find upsetting or disturbing, so that you can learn to cope effectively with it.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). This type of therapy combines exposure therapy with a series of guided eye movements that help you process traumatic memories.
- Cognitive behavior therapy. This approach combines cognitive and behavior therapy to help you identify unhealthy beliefs and behaviors and replace them with positive ones.
All these approaches can help you gain control of the fear and distress that happen after a traumatic event. The type of therapy that may be best for you depends on a number of factors that you and your health care professional can discuss.
Medications and psychotherapy also can help you if you've developed other problems related to your traumatic experience, such as depression, anxiety, or alcohol or substance abuse. You don't have to try to handle the burden of PTSD on your own.
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- Nakell L. Adult post-traumatic stress disorder: Screening and treating in primary care. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2007;34:593.
- How common is PTSD? National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_how_common_is_ptsd.html. Accessed March 3, 2009.
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- Self-care and self-help following disasters. National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_self_care_disaster.html. Accessed March 3, 2009.
- Feldman MD, et al. Posttraumatic stress disorder. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2009. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/123833839-2/811458959/1701/472.html. Accessed March 3, 2009.
- What is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_what_is_ptsd.html. Accessed March 3, 2009.
- Helping a family member who has PTSD. Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/helping_a_family_member.html. Accessed March 3, 2009.
- Taylor HR, et al. Prazosin for treatment of nightmares related to PTSD. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. 2008;65:716.
