This condition — the plain-language one-pager.

What is PTSD?Diagnosis

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a treatable mental health condition that develops after exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. About 6% of US adults have PTSD in their lifetime; rates are far higher in veterans, sexual assault survivors, refugees, healthcare workers, and first responders. Symptoms cluster around intrusion (nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive memories), avoidance, negative cognitions/mood, and hyperarousal (hypervigilance, startle, sleep disturbance, irritability) lasting more than a month and causing significant distress or impairment. PTSD responds well to trauma-focused therapy, with medications adjunctive.

• First-line treatment: trauma-focused psychotherapy — Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Trauma-Focused CBT. Typically 8-16 sessions; effect sizes large.
• Pharmacotherapy — SSRIs (sertraline, paroxetine — FDA-approved for PTSD); venlafaxine; prazosin for trauma nightmares (alpha-1 blocker); avoid benzodiazepines (no efficacy + worsen outcomes).
• Emerging therapies — MDMA-assisted therapy (FDA approval pending review); ketamine; psilocybin in research; stellate ganglion block; intensive outpatient trauma programs.
• Comorbidities are the rule — depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, SUD, chronic pain, suicidality. Treat them in parallel.
• Moral injury — distinct from PTSD; often co-occurs in veterans, healthcare workers, first responders; acknowledged in clinical care now.

Trauma-focused therapy works — find a therapist trained in itKnow your plan

Many people with PTSD go to "supportive therapy" for years without improvement. The therapies that actually treat PTSD — Prolonged Exposure, CPT, EMDR — are specific, manualized protocols. Insist on one trained in evidence-based trauma therapy.

• Prolonged Exposure (PE) — gradual approach to trauma memories + situations; 12-16 weekly sessions.
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) — focused on stuck cognitions about the trauma; 12 sessions.
• EMDR — bilateral stimulation while processing trauma memories; 6-12 sessions for single-event PTSD.
• Intensive outpatient programs — 1-3 weeks of daily trauma work; for complex, comorbid, or chronic cases.
• Veterans — VA + Vet Centers offer all three modalities free; private sector also widely trained.

Your daily Force FieldLive It

• Find a therapist trained in PE, CPT, or EMDR — confirm credentials + protocol before starting.
• Take SSRI/SNRI daily, on schedule; prazosin titrated for trauma nightmares.
• Sleep hygiene + treat nightmares — prazosin, IRT (Imagery Rehearsal Therapy), trauma-focused CBT.
• Avoid alcohol + recreational drugs — both worsen PTSD and reduce treatment efficacy.
• Address comorbid depression, anxiety, SUD, chronic pain — in parallel with trauma work.
• Build daily structure — sleep, meals, exercise, social, meaningful activity.
• Mindfulness, yoga, exercise, breathwork — calm the nervous system between trauma sessions.
• Suicide safety plan; 988 if crisis; reduce access to lethal means.
• Veterans / first responders / healthcare workers — peer support specific to your community matters.
• Family / partner therapy — PTSD affects relationships; couples / family work helps.

Red flags — call nowAction

• Call your clinic the same day for: new chest discomfort with exertion that goes away with rest (stable distress worth evaluating); a missed dose of antiplatelet or mental health medication; medication side effects (muscle aches, bleeding, GI symptoms).
• Bring up at next visit: any change in exercise tolerance, lipid follow-up timing, BP log review, smoking-cessation support, depression screening, sleep concerns.