Patient handout
PTSD
You have been diagnosed with PTSD. This page explains what that means, how it is treated, and what you can do now.
What it is
Post-traumatic stress disorder can follow an event, or repeated events, in which you faced death, serious injury, or violence, whether it happened to you or you witnessed it. The brain stays on guard long after the danger has passed. It is a normal nervous system reacting to an abnormal experience, it is not a weakness, and it responds well to treatment.
Common signs
- Reliving: intrusive memories, nightmares, flashbacks, intense reactions to reminders
- Avoiding: steering clear of people, places, or conversations connected to the event
- Negative shifts: guilt, shame, numbness, detachment, believing the world is unsafe or you are to blame
- On guard: startling easily, scanning for danger, irritability, trouble sleeping and concentrating
- Symptoms lasting more than a month and getting in the way of life
Why it happens
During a traumatic event, the brain stores the memory in survival mode, raw and unprocessed, so reminders replay it as if it were happening now. Avoidance keeps the memory from being processed, which is why it does not fade on its own. Treatment helps the brain file the memory as past.
How it is treated
- Trauma-focused therapy is the first-line treatment: cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure, or EMDR. A referral to a trauma-trained therapist can be arranged.
- Medication: SSRIs (sertraline, paroxetine) and venlafaxine reduce the overall symptom load. Prazosin can help trauma nightmares. Benzodiazepines are avoided in PTSD because they interfere with recovery.
- Supportive therapy is part of every visit here. Sleep, substance use, depression, and pain are treated alongside.
- Follow-up: every one to two weeks at first, then monthly, then every three months once stable.
What you can do now
- When a flashback or surge hits, ground yourself: name five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear. Remind yourself of the date and where you are.
- Keep a steady routine for sleep, meals, and movement.
- Limit alcohol and cannabis; they numb short term and worsen nightmares and avoidance long term.
- Tell one trusted person what helps you when you are triggered.
- Do not force yourself to retell the event outside treatment, and do not avoid life because of it either. Treatment is the middle path.
Get help right away if
- Thoughts of hurting yourself or others
- Feeling unsafe at home, or being hurt by someone now (we can help you plan; in immediate danger call 911)
- Blackouts, losing time, or not knowing where you are
- Using alcohol or drugs daily to get through
- Thoughts of hurting yourself or not wanting to be here: call or text 988 any time, or go to the nearest emergency room
Good to know
- PTSD can begin months or years after the event, and it can follow events that others might not recognize as traumatic. Your reaction is valid.
- Trauma therapy is hard work for a few months and then it is largely done; most people see lasting change.
- Your treatment record is confidential and is not released to an employer, agency, or anyone else without your written authorization, outside narrow legal exceptions.
Questions about your diagnosis or treatment?
Alice Tran Psychiatric Care · 3060 Williams Drive, Suite 300, Fairfax, VA 22031
Call: (703) 791-9099 · Text: (703) 791-9031 · info@alicetrannp.com · alicetrannp.com
This handout is for education and is not a substitute for the instructions you received at your visit. Follow the dose on your prescription label. If anything here differs from what you were told, call the office. In an emergency, call 911. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.