How to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Naturally

Some patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder prefer to treat their symptoms naturally to the greatest extent possible, avoiding the antidepressants and anti-psychotic medicines usually used in drug treatment regimens. The success rate of natural treatments depends largely on the patient's ability to process, face and talk through the events that caused his psychological and emotional injuries.

Things You'll Need

• Psychotherapist

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Instructions

Use Traditional Natural Therapies to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• 1

  Try a cognitive therapy program to treat post-traumatic stress disorder naturally. Cognitive therapy aims to help the patient integrate and heal from traumatic events by understanding and gaining perspective on what happened. Cognitive behavior therapy is a variant form of cognitive therapy, which aims to combine it with lifestyle modifications that will promote healthy healing.

• 2

  Have your psychotherapist treat your post-traumatic stress disorder naturally using exposure therapy. Exposure therapy aims to help patients defeat fear- and anxiety-based psychological responses through acclimatization. You will slowly face increasing immersion in traumatic memories, until such time as they no longer trigger harmful psychological and emotional reactions.

• 3

  Join a support group for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Going it alone makes coping needlessly difficult.

• 4

  Tell your psychotherapist if you begin to develop any subsequent disorders as the result of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Patients suffering from post-traumatic stress are typically at heightened risk of developing drinking and/or drug habits, eating disorders, depression and anxiety. Your psychotherapist can also help treat these problems.

Use Experimental and Newer Natural Therapies to Treat Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

• 5

  Give a psychotherapeutic method like eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) a try. This cutting-edge treatment technique combines sensory stimulation, particularly of the eyes, with memory therapy to help the patient cope with the long-term effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, be warned: scientists are split on the question of whether or not it is truly an effective treatment.

• 6

  Attempt an unconventional treatment that is based on psychological attachment theory to attack the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. An approach like this is often used by specialists to treat complex forms of psychological and emotional trauma.