How can a person deal with PTSD without medication or counseling?

Answer 1

It's hard for a person to cope with PTSD with or without treatment, but even harder without. It's something that may get easier with time, but will probably never go away. You could try talking about the event(s) with a close friend or someone you trust to help you face what happened or you could just try to move on. It's a hard thing to deal with, there are two people in my life who suffer from this and they are changed people. Can't handle stress, always on edge, etc. One of them takes anti-depressants and goes to counseling and the other just tries to cope himself. It will vary from person to person as to the severity of the effects, but I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy. Don't be afraid to seek treatment! You could always look online for some sort of support group. Good luck and best wishes!

Answer 2

This stuff can be really tough- I think it would be much better if you could get counseling. If you are worried about money, many therapists have sliding scales, and some organizations like rape crisis centers, Jewish, Catholic, or other religious Family Services, YW/YMCA, and other community service organizations offer low-cost or even free help. If you are worried about information getting out that might be harmful to you, counselors and therapists follow confidentiality guidelines, and if you pay out of pocket, I'm pretty sure your insurance company won't find out about it- mine never did! If you're a minor, I'm not sure- but don't assume that counselors have to tell your parents you're seeing them- check it out! Call them and ask- or try organizations that work with teens, like teen shelters or hotlines. Good luck, and keep looking. There is help out there, but sometimes you have to hunt it down!

If you can't see a therapist, a couple of good books are "The Body Remembers" (forgot who wrote it), and "Getting Through the Day: Strategies for Adults Abused as Children, by Nancy Napier. "Waking the Tiger" is another good one.

"The Body Remembers" teaches a number of ways to deal with flashbacks, and the build-up of anxiety. Basically they involve ways of helping calm yourself down and learning ways to "reframe" traumatic memories, to help your brain integrate them. I found it very helpful.

Answer 3

1) You need to be able to tell the difference between "normal" and PTSD symptoms
2) You need to be able to identify the PTSD symptoms when they are happening.
3) You need to learn "what to do" when the PTSD symptoms are disrupting your life and relationships
4) You need to tell the people you care about, or your boss that you have PTSD, as some of the symptoms can make you appear to be distant, or angry, or not able to concentrate, or appear that you don't care, or could get you fired or mess-up your relationships
5) You need to be willing to accept the help of others in your life, and to trust them, and to listen -- which may be just the opposite of what you feel like doing.
6) You need to give yourself space and time to deal with your symptoms or to heal.
7) To actively heal, you need to learn to control the triggers that start-off your symptoms, and to learn to live with a very low stress life.
8) You need to learn ways to calm yourself in the moments you feel most upset.
9) You need to learn to find HOPE in your life for the future.

Answer 4

I recommend at the very least having a one-time consultation with a mental health professional. This way, he or she can confirm the diagnosis, provide treatment recommendations, and general prognosis.

If you do decide to go about this on your own, then try a workbook. Try "The PTSD Workbook" or "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook". A workbook will have educational info and plenty of exercises that you can do on your own.

Answer 5

It's more difficult to deal with trauma alone, but if you must, then start writing. Write about the trauma in whatever way works for you - story, poetry, etc. Make yourself the hero of the story - notice what you did to survive and how hard it was. Notice the strength that it took for you to do whatever it was that you needed to do.
The normal response to trauma is first to freeze, then to try to run, then to fight, and finally, to submit (collapse, like all mammals do to feign death in order to survive). Notice what you did with those responses and where you may be stuck.
Next, what did you learn about yourself and the world through the trauma. Trauma can be transformed into compassion and wisdom, if that is your choice. It doesn't have to be endlessly awful.
There are books and other resources online. Go after all of it - and, eat healthy, exercise, pray or meditate, and connect with supportive people.

Answer 6

have you been diagnosed with ptsd? or is this a self-diagnosis? it's next to impossible to "deal" with ptsd without either talk-therapy or medication to slow down the anxiety and obsessive back-thoughts.

Answer 7

You can't. You have to see a doctor and see if that's what you have and then the doctor tells you how to treat it. We don't live in the 1800's go and see a doctor.