Scott Kampschaefer, lcsw

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5 Signs PTSD is Affecting Your Memories

Do you find yourself reliving the past?  Do memories come back over you with the same awful details that they always have?  If this describes what you experience, you may have PTSD affecting your memories.  PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a condition where memories are frozen in the brain in a way that causes distress and negatively affects the brain and the rest of the nervous system.

 

What Are the 5 Most Common Signs PTSD is Affecting Your Memories?

 

  1. The memories always stay the same.  They don’t change over time.

  2. You have nightmares, either about a particular memory or about the same thing each time.

  3. You have flashbacks.

  4. You try to avoid thinking about the memories, but they keep coming back.

  5. When you remember an event, it is almost as if you are reliving it all over again.

 

How to Get the PTSD Out of Your Memories

 

One of the best and most effective ways to get PTSD out of your memories is to get trauma therapy with someone trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).  This is a form of therapy that helps to help your brain recover from the effects of PTSD.  It is a form of therapy that has been around for over 25 years now, and has helped a great many people to recover from PTSD.  It helps the brain re-work the memories so that they integrate better with the rest of the brain and nervous system to help people return to normal functioning:  both in their brains and in the rest of their lives.  

 

PTSD is a Typical Reaction to an Extreme Situation

 

Trauma that often leads to PTSD is an all-too-common thing.  It is something that can overwhelm a person’s brain and nervous system, especially if they are vulnerable to such effects, such that the memory of an event haunts them for a long time after the event is over.  It’s almost like the event is frozen in their minds so that they become ‘stuck’ by this.  It can become an all-consuming experience that causes extreme problems for people such that they can also become depressed and anxious.  Sometimes people commit suicide due to the effects of PTSD.  It can affect one’s sleep and relationships also to the extent they have insomnia all the time and alienate loved ones for no other reason than the PTSD.  It is very common among soldiers, people in war-torn countries, and in countries where there have been natural disasters.  It is also very common in adults that have been abused as children.

 

Trauma Therapy Can Help Free Your Mind and Life From PTSD

 

As I mentioned above, EMDR has shown remarkable effectiveness in helping people overcome the effects of PTSD.  It can help you remember events in a way that no longer disturbs you.  You might even forget about such events until someone reminds you of them.  When they do it’s no longer bothersome as it once was.  Another therapy that can help with  PTSD is Image Transformation Therapy (ImTT).  It is newer and is even more gentle than EMDR in helping people get over PTSD, although exactly how well it helps people get the PTSD out of their memories is not as clear.  Both EMDR and ImTT help people to re-work their memories so they are not nearly as bothersome, but EMDR has the best track record of  the two.

 

I Can Help You in Getting PTSD Out of Your Memories

 

I have been doing EMDR with clients for about 4 years now, and I can say without a doubt it is effective in helping get the PTSD out of people’s memories.  I am also the only ImTT practitioner in the Austin, Texas area and have found it to be effective in helping people re-work memories as well.  I would be happy to talk with you more about how I can help you to recover from PTSD.  You can call me at 512-648-3053 or email me by filling out the form below.  I can be reached directly at scott@scottkampschaeferlcsw.com for a free 15-minute phone consult, or a free 30-minute in-person consult.   

 

About the author:  Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland.  He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin.  He now works with adults and adolescents of all ages in private practice.


Click here to learn more about how Scott can help you with PTSD.

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