5 Reasons To Start PTSD Treatment in Utah
Living with PTSD is hard, to say the least. It’s often debilitating and discouraging to live with the symptoms of PTSD. You often feel misunderstood for the way you respond to situations and people The constant feelings of being on edge and watching your back, you can’t imagine a life where you didn’t respond this way. Your trauma impacts relationships, and no matter how hard you try it doesn’t seem to go away. It seems like you see or hear something out of the blue and your trauma comes to rear its ugly head, and then you can’t stop thinking about it. Next thing you know you’re dreaming about it and dread going to sleep every night because you know what awaits you. It’s difficult for many people to even acknowledge they have experienced trauma and are dealing with PTSD. Instead, you think you’re weak and there’s something wrong with you, and that’s just not the case.
I wish everyone understood that they don’t have to live like that. You don’t have to feel held back and imprisoned by what you went through. This is the biggest reason why you should start PTSD treatment: you deserve better and you can have better. I promise you this is not how it ends for you. This is not something you have to exist with your whole life. Neither you nor I can change what happened no matter how desperately I wish I could but we can stop making it hurt so bad. You can have your life back or have a life you never had before. There’s hope that you don’t have to be haunted forever by your traumatic experiences. Here are more reasons why you should start PTSD Treatment:
PTSD treatment can help you stop believing it’s all your fault
One of the most common beliefs of people who have been through a traumatic experience is the belief that what they went through was their fault. I know that nobody has ever been able to persuade you that what you experienced wasn’t your fault, and to be honest no other person probably will be able to but with trauma therapy, you can learn to change what you think and feel about the experience. You might read this and think “ha yeah right” and I don’t blame you for that. It’s important to give yourself grace for where you are at right now but also maybe entertain the idea that it could be different for you. I don’t know if you had any accountability in the traumatic event but I know it doesn’t help you drown in self-blame and self-hatred. I also know most people have a skewed sense of responsibility when it comes to trauma. Sometimes things just happen, and it didn’t have as much to do with you as you sometimes believe.
2. PTSD treatment can help you sleep better at night
You might have the worst time trying to fall asleep because your mind starts thinking about the experience or memory over and over again. No amount of counting sleep seems to stop that. If you can fall asleep, maybe you can’t stay asleep and you end up waking up in the middle of the night thinking about it yet again. Not only is the sleep disturbance awful but the nightmares are never-ending. It feels easier just to stay away than to have to experience this night after night. You wake up but you don’t feel rested and you can’t shake that feeling. Trauma therapy can help you process the traumatic experience so your brain can stop trying to work through it on its own through nightmares. Nightmares suck and are frustrating to have and yet it’s also the brain's way of trying to process the experience. Nightmares are expected and are a sign your brain is working but we can take it a step further and help you stop experiencing them together.
3. PTSD treatment can help relieve anxiety
Some of the men I work with don’t realize what they are experiencing is anxiety. There’s often a disconnect that what you are experiencing is symptoms of anxiety. Thinking about the same experience over and over again is often referred to as rumination. Rumination is a form of anxiety, and anxiety is a symptom of PTSD. You likely do things to try and manage your anxiety such as avoiding places, people, or situations that trigger anxious feelings. You might avoid driving certain routes or going to crowded places because it brings up anxiety and serves as a painful reminder. Anxiety is a natural response for people who have experienced trauma as it is a signal to the brain to take action but with PTSD the experience is over but the brain doesn’t know that. The brain believes the trauma is still happening so you keep feeling anxiety. PTSD treatment can help your brain stop replaying the experience and sending you signals to act, and it can relieve anxiety.
4. PTSD treatment can help improve your relationships
Trauma can have an isolating effect on you. You might find yourself more withdrawn and depressed. It can be difficult for you to be around other people. You also find yourself more snappy and grouchy with the people you love. The lack of sleep and the exhaustion in your brain make it hard for you to be your best self in your relationships. Another effect of trauma is that it makes you feel unsafe and mistrusting of other people and the world around you. It’s hard to invest in relationships when there is a sense of mistrust and uncertainty around safety. PTSD treatment can help rebuild your relationships and learn to trust others again. While your traumatic experiences have helped you recognize warning signs in other people that aren’t safe, it doesn’t mean that everyone is unsafe. Therapy can help you work through these experiences so your relationships can improve and be more meaningful.
5. PTSD treatment can help you feel more in control of your emotions
Nobody likes to feel like their emotions are out of control. Your emotions may feel overwhelming and heightened all the time with PTSD. You might feel anxious, antsy, and on edge but you also might feel completely numb and disconnected. You can find yourself shutting off your brain and disengaging from situations. You might feel floaty or zone out for longer periods of time than what feels like the norm. While these are all normal and expected symptoms of PTSD, they impact your daily functioning and your relationships. It would be nice to feel like you could manage your emotions better and not always feel irritable. PTSD treatment can help you experience your emotions with decreased intensity and learn to cope with them better. A primary goal of PTSD treatment is not to be hijacked by emotions and reactions but instead, to be able to react with awareness and more control.
Is PTSD treatment effective?
PTSD has been around since the dawn of time but people didn’t know what to call it or how to make sense of it. We now understand the symptoms and what they mean, and people have spent a lot of time finding the best treatment and therapy for PTSD. There are several forms of therapy to treat PTSD that are incredibly effective. I can assure you that therapy is effective and can offer you lasting relief. It’s also important to know therapy is only one hour a week and some of the work to overcome PTSD takes place outside of the session. It involves practicing coping skills discussed in the session in order to have success with PTSD treatment. This therapy will work and you can have your life back but it does take time, patience, and some work to get there. This doesn’t have to be your life forever.
How does trauma therapy work?
Working through PTSD comes in steps when working in trauma therapy. One of the most important things is to establish trust with your therapist. When I am working with my clients. PTSD creates a lot of mistrust with others, and it can be hard for you to feel safe. I want my clients to know I am safe and trustworthy. I want to make sure to allow them time to adjust to me and to feel safe in our therapeutic relationship. I would never expect a client to share the most painful experiences of their life right away. If you have experienced trauma you know how much control you didn’t have through the experience, and part of healing is helping you feel like you have a voice and a choice in treatment. After you have gained the trust and feel safer, we begin to work on developing healthy coping skills to help you start finding relief and to be able to tolerate reprocessing your trauma. Once you feel more confident in your ability to cope we will start utilizing trauma therapy models such as EMDR.
EMDR Therapy for PTSD in Utah
EMDR therapy is an incredible therapy model that helps people who have experienced trauma find relief from their symptoms. EMDR is well researched and was first utilized when working with veterans. However, it since has been found to work with any person that has experienced any kind of trauma. EMDR involves the use of eye movements or tapping known as bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation is a movement we utilize every day such as walking, snapping our fingers back and forth, or playing the piano. In EMDR we utilize bilateral stimulation paired with recognizing emotions, body sensations, negative beliefs about yourself, and the trauma to help you find relief from your trauma symptoms. People who complete EMDR have reported having a reduction in PTSD symptoms and overall distress about the traumatic experience.
What’s stopping you from working with a therapist for PTSD in Utah?
I know it’s scary to think about having to talk about your trauma or share it with a stranger. I totally get it. I want you to feel comfortable and to take it at your own pace. One helpful thing for people who have been through trauma is offering online therapy in Utah. Online therapy can be done in the comfort of your own home through a face-to-face video call with your therapist. People who have been through trauma feel safer doing trauma therapy where they have access to their pets and where they know they are safe.
Online Therapy also means that you don’t have to be located in Utah County to work with me. This means if you are located in St. George, Logan, or Cedar City I can help you work through your trauma and find relief.
Begin PTSD Treatment near Provo, Utah
You don’t have to keep living with fear and nightmares. Therapy can help you find peace of mind. This Utah County counseling center has a trauma therapist who specializes in PTSD treatment. To begin therapy, follow these steps:
Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with Marcus Hunt
Complete online forms and book the first session with a mental health professional
Begin overcoming your fears
Other mental health services provided by Marcus Hunt Therapy
PTSD treatment isn’t the only service I offer at this Provo area counseling clinic. Other mental health services provided by Marcus Hunt Therapy include EMDR and trauma therapy, marriage counseling, premarital counseling, anxiety treatment, therapy for men, and marriage counseling for LDS couples.
About the Author
Marcus Hunt is an associate marriage and family therapist at Marcus Hunt Therapy in Spanish Fork, Utah. Marcus cares deeply about working with men in therapy who are experiencing PTSD symptoms and have been through traumatic events to find lasting relief. Marcus believes people can move beyond their trauma through effective trauma-informed care. He is a trained EMDR therapist through EMDRIA and has been helping men work through trauma using an EMDR approach. Marcus graduated from Utah Valley University with a bachelor's in behavioral science and received his master's degree in marriage and family therapy from Abilene Christian University.