Page 68 - Total War on PTSD

patterns actually feed their anxiety, not being truly mentally present with their family at the events, and recognizing that being on guard all of the time steals precious moments from them and their family that they cannot get back. There is a saying that goes, “The nature of anxiety is drowning in the past or worrying about the future, while the moment is lost.” Part of the goal of going to environments is to stay through the anxiety peak and tolerate it, teaching them that avoidance only perpetuates their anxiety, while pushing through it can help them to feel more efficacious and competent to handle their own emotions. Until they confront their anxiety, it will most likely will dictate “if they go, when they go, where they go, and how long they go.” Through the course of treatment, hopefully the combat Veteran can gain insight that they are not controlling their anxiety through their behaviors, but actually it has a great deal of control over them.
Even in this brief treatment summary, it is clear that PTSD is a highly complex disorder that can be challenging to treat. Despite its challenges, PTSD is highly treatable and symptoms do progressively improve over the course of recovery, to the point they resolve and the Veteran no longer meets criteria for PTSD. The journey can clearly be arduous and it takes a great deal of commitment on the part of the Veteran to overcome these symptoms and to regain equilibrium. These pages are considered an overview of some of the key elements of treatment in traditional therapy, but are clearly not exhaustive in nature. There are many excellent adjunct treatments that can also help reduce the symptoms of PTSD, many of which that are covered throughout this book.
To access the VA Treatment Decision Aid please access it here: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/ Decisionaid/
68 of 1063