If you or a loved one are looking for alternative treatment options for PTSD, this video is for you. My name is Evan with Optimal TMS, and today I want to talk a little bit about PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD is a condition that develops when an individual is exposed to traumatic or life-threatening events or circumstances. Symptoms can include heightened anxiety, increased stress, flashbacks, nightmares, and continuous physical and emotional symptoms from constantly thinking about that traumatic event.
The main treatments currently available for PTSD include counseling and talk therapy, medications, and alternative forms of therapy like art, music, and psychedelic therapy. The goal of these therapies is to help the individual process the emotions, feelings, anxiety, and stress related to the memories of this traumatic event.
Recent research has shown that TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, can also be incredibly effective at treating post-traumatic stress disorder. We all experience negative emotions, but in PTSD, the powerful negative emotions and anxiety tied to the traumatic event make it difficult for the brain to fully process and store the memories of the event.
This leads to repeated flashbacks, nightmares, and anxiety symptoms tied to PTSD. TMS is an alternative approach to helping the brain process these memories. Many times after a traumatic event or experience, connections between brain cells can weaken and die off, leading to decreased efficiency in your brain functioning.
TMS uses powerful magnetic pulses targeted to specific regions of the brain to increase neuroplasticity and firing in between brain cells, allowing the brain to regrow healthy connections again. By regrowing these healthy connections, the brain is then better able to process events and experiences that have happened in the past.
TMS allows other therapies like talk therapy, EMDR, art therapy, and music therapy to be more effective in helping you process the negative emotions and experiences related to post-traumatic stress.
Ultimately, TMS is not an automatic cure. It’s still important to put in the work required with talk therapy and other things to process those strong emotions from such a traumatic event.
However, TMS does open the door to increased neuroplasticity and better connections between your brain pathways, which is why it goes along so well with traditional therapy methods.
If you or a loved one are looking for help with your PTSD, get in touch with our team below and we will set you up for a consultation with our provider. Thanks so much.
