Poll Best Treatment For Full Recovery

[Insight]

Talk Therapy does not seem to be working for me. I am interested to see what form of treatment has worked best for the majority of people.

 

[expectingbetter]

It could be that the reason why it doesn't work is that you still haven't found the right therapist.

 

[Insight]

Yeah, that could be true. I just feel like there are other proven treatments like EMDR and EFT tapping that are more effective for the majority of people.

 

[EveHarrington]

I personally haven't had much help from straight talk therapy.

Can you expand on what your talk therapy entails?

 

[Lionheart]

The positive results I have seen are from Medications (low dose Abilify, Cymbalta, Trazadone, Vistaril, and Prazosin), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Exposure therapy and Group Peer Support (as in this forum), Outside Support (family and close friends), and Behavioral Modifications, and lots of Soul Searching ie; (Spiritual faith).

I can't say what will work for others, I only know that these things have combined to help me heal a great deal, but I would not say 'complete recovery' because until there is a cure, I will continue to have PTSD.

 

[Insight]

Talk Therpy is also known as Psychotherapy. There are over a thousand different names psychotherapies, EMDR and EFT tapping both full under psychotherapy. My T. does neither of these so I am not sure what kind of psychotherapy therapy she is doing. We mainly just sit down and talk and she asks me how my week has been and I think she mainly provides understanding to my situation and support. I am not sure what specific type of psychotherapy this would be considered though.

 

[Sideways]

I do talk-therapy, but it's structured trauma-focused stuff. V helpful.

But the treatment you need depends a lot on what your personal experience of ptsd looks like, and I don't think any one form of treatment is necessarily the answer.

Eg. I take a cocktail of different types of psychtropic meds (anti-dep, mood stabiliser, benzo prn, a-typical anti-psycho's - took years getting that right and it's always getting tweaked as I change).

But I couldn't have done without all the cbt I did, the stuff I borrowed from dbt (esp distress tolerance and mindfulness), the meditation and yoga classes I stuck with (and I'm not a tofu and chai tea kinda gal), behavioural focused work, re-scripting was awesome, grounding is an every-dayer, I've got exposure stuff going on...

My attitude to therapy is I'll try pretty much everything. ECT didn't work for me, but I've seen it change lives for others. Tms may be on the cards if I get another suicidal patch - magnets on my head? Weird, but I'll have a crack...

I couldn't honestly pick one form of treatment and say "Yup, that's the magic wand". Some have helped more than others - like my depression is major and cbt is critical there, and my seroquel has saved me from many a flashback experience gone bad...

To be honest, if I had to pick just one to focus on, it would probably be good old lifestyle work: diet, exercise, sleep, & meaningful daily activity.

 

[Insight]

@Lionheart777, thank you for the reply.
I am sorry to hear that you will continue to have PTSD. I can not tell if I have PTSD or depression, and do not want to self diagnose so I am seeking therapy in hope to recover. I wish you the best for you to heal mentally :)

 

[Sideways]

Of course, "healthy lifestyle" isn't very sexy and is a big committment and a lot of work. No one makes much money from spinning the "healthy lifestyle" approach!

Valium is easier, but it's helping with my anxiety and doing sfa for my ptsd.

 

[EveHarrington]

It doesn't sound like you're doing trauma therapy per se. Have you researched different types of therapies that help heal trauma?

 

[Insight]

@Ragdoll Circus, What do you mean by a "healthy lifestyle" isn't very sexy? Haha I would think the exact opposite lol. And that is good to hear Valium is helping you with your anxiety. I have such a stressful job ontop of the depression and anxiety from my past experiences so maybe that is something I should consider. I am being prescribed Xanax which is a real life saver when I have extreme anxiety outbursts and depression.

 

[Insight]

@EveHarrington,
Yeah I don't know what kind of therapy it is. And yes, I have looked into EMDR and EFT tapping and that is something I want to try, which my therapist also suggested. I called a place today but they did not answer. Art Therapy was also suggested to me by my T. which all the places that do that are far. But I am willing to try anything.