PTSD Counseling NYC: Why Your PTSD Was Overlooked or Underdiagnosed for So Long
Trauma can be tricky and the mental health fallout can be complicated.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 8 million Americans deal with trauma and develop PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder). For people dealing with a traumatic event or relationship, the resulting impact can be difficult to diagnose.
Yet, it doesn’t always look the same or receive the appropriate amount of attention as it should. If you’re wondering why your trauma experience (or that of a loved one) has been so tough to resolve, consider the following factors. With more understanding and information, you can seek and sustain the support you need and move forward with more hope and self-compassion.
PTSD Counseling NYC: First, What Does PTSD Usually Look Like?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health disorder. Following a traumatic event, PTSD can develop slowly or suddenly. It is an equal opportunity disorder too, impacting anyone of any culture, age, race, or gender.
Commonly, PTSD indicators or symptoms include any or all of the following:
- recurring nightmares
- reexperiencing the trauma via nightmares or flashbacks
- avoidance of triggering places, people, or circumstances
- difficulty with focus or concentration
- irritability, anger, or combativeness
- persistent hyperarousal (fight-or-flight)
- difficulty with recall or other memory issues
Yet, the list above isn’t all there is to the PTSD experience for many sufferers. How you or others live with their symptoms is as varied as the people involved.
PTSD Counseling NYC: Why Your PTSD Might’ve Seemed Invisible
You Might Be Minimizing
We’re told too often, to get over and push through emotional pain. Especially difficult to face are traumas that are uncomfortable or confusing for society as a whole.
As a result, the emotional vulnerability that leads to sharing and seeking appropriate support can be long delayed, complicating an accurate diagnosis. Thus, you may have learned to cope with your trauma by attributing your symptoms to current stressors, instead of past pain or unresolved hurts.
On the surface, you may wave symptoms away, insisting that they are no big deal. Or worse, you might medicate them with food, substances, or other forms of escapism and controlling behavior. Hence, your PTSD gets boiled down to seemingly everyday issues and overreactions that minimize your deeper discomfort and may keep you feeling misunderstood.
Overlapping Symptoms Make PTSD Easy to Overlook
Unfortunately, PTSD’s most recognizable symptoms aren’t unique to PTSD. Major mental health conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder (BPD), generalized anxiety, and serious depressive disorders share the very same challenges. All of these conditions involve problems like mood swings, irritability, sleep disruption, and hyperarousal.
Have you been diagnosed with another mental health condition? If you are being treated, you and your caregivers may not have considered that your symptoms are trauma-related. Or you may be suffering PTSD in addition to the treated condition (this is called comorbidity).
Underdiagnosis Can Occur in Misunderstood Demographics
Are you young or female? Age and gender matter when it comes to understanding PTSD. Women and young people are often underdiagnosed. Why? Societally, our expectations can get in the way. Too often, mature men are the preconceived idea of PTSD sufferers.
Also, the kinds of trauma that lead to PTSD in women and children, such as sexual or domestic abuse, tend to be reported less. This gives the impression that trauma is experienced less and, therefore, PTSD happens less.
PTSD Counseling NYC: How PTSD Treatment Helps You Feel Seen
You deserve relief and your PTSD symptoms deserve professional attention. Commit to PTSD treatment. Working with a qualified, experienced therapist can help you make the changes you want. There are various approaches to PTSD care. Well-supported and informed, you can choose an option that makes sense for you.
If you are ready to be understood and connect to the world, less burdened by trauma, reach out for support.
Learn more about PTSD Treatment services for help.
The Relationship Suite
We are a group of skilled therapists, ready when you are. We have the experience to support trauma sufferers. Please read more about PTSD therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and contact us for support soon. You can feel better and live well.
Learn more about our Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment services here.
If you’re struggling, call 917-273-8836 or Contact us for a complimentary consultation to learn more about counseling in NYC and how we can help you.
We are a group of skilled therapists specializing in individual and couples counseling. Since Covid, we have been working with couples via Online Counseling in New York and New York City, including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester, Long Island, Roslyn, Port Washington, Manhasset, South Hampton, East Hampton, and Montauk. To schedule a complimentary consultation, click HERE.
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