PTSD is not a life sentence.
If you have experienced something traumatic like a car accident, assault, abuse, life-threatening illness, or natural disaster, you may find that your life is not what it used to be before this happened.
You can’t do what you used to do, and your relationships are suffering. As much as you try to forget about the experience, you can’t get it out of your head.
You feel you’re always on edge. No matter how much deep breathing you do, you get upset whenever something reminds you of that experience.
If even some of this sounds familiar, you may have Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although it feels like you will never get better, this is not the case. Many people have recovered fully from PTSD through Prolonged Exposure therapy.
What is Prolonged Exposure Therapy for trauma?
Trauma and PTSD are stubborn issues because our natural tendency is to avoid difficult memories and situations. This tendency works against us because it keeps the PTSD symptoms going.
In Prolonged Exposure therapy, we use exposure to reduce avoidance and with it the symptoms of PTSD.
“Exposure” in this context means confronting something you have been avoiding.
Prolonged exposure therapy reduces the fear of past trauma.
Think about watching a scary movie. The first time you watch the movie, it is scary. You probably jump or even scream when the unexpected happens. This response probably happens the second time you watch it or even the third.
But what do you think happens the 100th time you watch it? It isn’t very scary. Right?
The same thing happens with the memory of a traumatic event when we use exposure to desensitize the memory and the triggers surrounding the memory.
This type of therapy works because as you talk about the event more frequently and do things that remind you of it, you become more and more used to it.
You start to experience the reality that the memory cannot hurt you and even becomes boring to you.
Exposure therapy is a direct way to help you experience that the things you fear are safe.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy requires commitment.
Prolonged exposure is not for everyone. It works quickly because it involves a lot of work. I’ll be asking you to do anywhere from one to six hours of homework outside of sessions each week. This seems like a lot, but most people get better within ten to twelve sessions.
The work is hard, but most people report a dramatic drop in nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive memories within the first few weeks of starting this type of therapy.
A decrease in those bad memories allows people to do things they used to do and start enjoying life again.
Can Prolonged Exposure therapy be used with EMDR?
Yes! In fact, I have had a lot of success using Prolonged Exposure therapy to help people address a significant traumatic incident and then, when many acute symptoms of PTSD have been reduced, we use EMDR to work on the memories related to long-standing issues such as emotional abuse in childhood or in romantic relationships.
EMDR can be very helpful in working on trauma that happens over many years. The combination of both EMDR and Prolonged Exposure therapy is a powerful one with excellent outcomes.
Start life anew without PTSD!
Don’t allow that past event to rule your life and keep you in a state of fear.
If you have been struggling with these symptoms of PTSD for months or years, relief feels like a miracle.
Schedule a call with me today by filling out the contact form below. I’m excited to talk with you about how we can help you get back to your life using prolonged exposure therapy.