Who's at Risk for PTSD?

Unfortunately for many, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has long been presented as a specialized diagnosis related to military service in a war zone. In reality, PTSD can happen to almost anyone who has suffered a major trauma or a series of ongoing traumas over a long period of time.

At Braincare Performance Center Carlsbad, Dr. Oluseyi Awodele, and Dr. Joel Apides, and their trained neuro-technicians work with patients suffering from PTSD to provide relief from symptoms and a chance for a better life.

A quick history of PTSD

In the past, PTSD was a term used almost exclusively for soldiers (usually returning from war zones or from being held captive) who displayed signs of significant mental trauma. It’s not surprising, given this link, that PTSD was originally called “shell shock” or “battle fatigue.”

That’s not the only cause of PTSD, however. At its core, PTSD is a stress disorder caused by any of a wide range of traumatic events. PTSD episodes are often triggered by a memory or flashback, or by a current event that brings old events to mind.

You might be at risk for PTSD if …

In addition to experiences in military service or in a war zone, there are many other traumatic events that can cause PTSD. The trigger is usually an event or events in your life that caused deep and lasting trauma to your psyche, leading to reliving those experiences repeatedly.

Risk factors for PTSD

PTSD can be caused by many different forms of trauma or abuse. If you’ve ever experienced or been the victim in one of the following scenarios, you could be at risk for PTSD:

Any sort of traumatic, injurious incident (like a car crash or dog attack)
The death of someone you love (especially if the death was unexpected)
Emotional, physical, or sexual assault or abuse
A home invasion, robbery, mugging, or kidnapping
A natural disaster (like a hurricane, tornado, forest fire, flood, or earthquake)

You can also end up with chronic PTSD (CPTSD) if abuse or violence against you was perpetrated over a long period of time. For example, many child abuse victims end up with a diagnosis of PTSD.

Symptoms of PTSD can include anxiety, depression, panic attacks, freezing or becoming catatonic for periods of time, an inability to participate in social situations, difficulty trusting others, becoming hypervigilant in crowded places, constantly looking over your shoulder, or even being violent with people or animals. You might also avoid people, places, or scenarios that remind you of trauma, or experience frequent nightmares and/or flashbacks.

PTSD treatment

Treatments for PTSD vary depending on the individual. Everyone’s trauma is different, and so is how their brain responds to past events. At Braincare Performance Center, we often use a treatment known as magnetic e-resonance therapy (MeRT) to treat PTSD in a noninvasive, gentle, and safe manner.

Magnetic resonance therapy has shown great promise in treating patients with severe PTSD symptoms. In one study, 76% of patients reported that their PTSD symptoms were improved after this type of treatment.

First, we complete two tests to get a baseline for how your brain is operating:

Quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG)

The qEEG records your brain waves, which allows us to accurately map electrical activity in your brain’s nerves and identify areas where the electrical activity is too low. Reduced activity means that your nerves are underperforming and your brain isn’t creating the chemicals required to function correctly and keep you from having PTSD symptoms.

Electrocardiogram (EKG)

Next, we do a regular EKG to track your heart rate and activity, then compare the results of the EKG with your qEEG results. This provides us with a starting point so we can track your progress throughout your treatment.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Finally, we use MeRT-TMS protocols to deliver gentle, targeted magnetic pulses into the identified dysfunctional brain areas. This stimulates nerve activity, increases positive brain chemicals, and helps strengthen critical connections in your brain, restoring healthy function and reducing your PTSD symptoms.

Our MeRT-TMS protocol requires you to have five treatments a week for two weeks. If your symptoms and another qEEG show improvement, we continue MeRT-TMS treatment for another two to four weeks for lasting relief.

Are you ready to beat PTSD? Contact our office by calling 760-760-4089 or by booking an appointment online today using our easy scheduling system.