Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a real and devastating cycle that is being fielded by an increasing number of healthcare professionals.
Massage therapists can provide the technique, care and support needed for PTSD healing to occur.
A growing awareness is emerging among massage therapists and other healthcare workers that traumatic experiences are widespread. It is very common for people who have been traumatized to develop medical and psychological symptoms associated with their experience. People that experience life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents or violent personal assaults can experience;
• Nightmares
• Flashbacks
• Difficulty sleeping
• Feelings of detachment or estrangement
• Development of physical pain from the mental/emotional impact of the event
Your life can be significantly affected and impaired when post-traumatic symptoms are chronic and severe.
Known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, the stress caused by trauma has a neurobiological basis that can disrupt and alter brain chemistry, influencing one’s behavior, feelings and thought processes significantly. An estimated 70 percent of adults in the U.S. have experienced a traumatic event. Of these individuals, about 8 percent of men and 20 percent of women go on to develop PTSD following a traumatic event. Roughly 30 percent of these individuals develop a chronic manifestation that persists throughout their lifetimes. Without any treatment for this disorder, many people may continue to have PTSD symptoms even decades after the traumatic event.
Symptoms that are associated with PTSD;
Re-living the event through recurring nightmares or other intrusive images that occur at any time. Extreme emotional or physical reactions such as chills, heart palpitations or panic.
Avoiding reminders of the event including places, people, thoughts or other activities associated with the trauma. Feelings of emotional detachment, withdrawal from friends and family, and loss of interest activities.
Being on guard or hyper-aroused at all times, including feeling irritable or sudden anger, having difficulty sleeping or lack of concentration, overly alert or easily startled.
Frequent physical complaints include chronic pain, fatigue, stomach pains, respiratory problems, headaches, muscle cramps, muscle aches or low back pain. Further indicators of PTSD include emotional absence and/or unresponsiveness, depression, exaggerated startle responses or extreme ticklishness, numbness or hypersensitivity to touch over parts or all of the body, migrating symptoms of physical pain, disassociation from self, actions or parts of the body, irritability and/or outbursts of anger or crying.
