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pennychavez · 7 years ago

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My Eating Disorder Story

Eating Disorder My Story

For as long as I can remember, I was always a little heavier than my friends. From six years old on, I had a bigger shaped face, longer legs, and bigger breasts. I used to take pictures with my friends and not think anything of the fact that I was the bigger girl, I just was. I was athletic and had muscles, thicker arms from playing softball and swimming, and it made my Dad proud to know he was raising his daughter not to be a wimp. He used to tell me that I was from a “bigger boned family,” meaning that I’d never be as tiny as my friends Amanda and Tara, who were both the size equivalent of a ballerina that only ate twice a week.

As I got older, my fat sister wasn’t so fat anymore. She had lost all of her baby weight and was sporting crop tops and daisy duke shorts every time she returned home from college. I idolized her new hair cut, her collarbone peeking out from over her tube top, her non-jiggly thighs. I didn’t realize she had lost so much weight from a drug problem, or that she was unhealthily thin. I needed to be as tiny as she was, to follow in her footsteps, to be the cute girl that the neighborhood boys wanted to hang out with. Around that time my parents had split up, were constantly fighting, sticking me in the middle of their arguments. I heard how much of a crazy drunk my mom was from my dad, how abusive my cheating father was from mom, all the while drowning everything out with deep internet searches of Karlie Kloss, and binge watching America’s Next Top Model. That’s how it all started, being a kid lost in a divorce battle, just trying to find someone to look up to.

My first time skipping a meal was probably in seventh grade. I began just not going to lunch at school. Instead I’d go to the nurse’s office, to the computer lab, to the bathroom. I’d sit there and busy myself, throwing away the food that my mom had prepared me the night before. It wasn’t instantaneously noticeable, but I lost weight. My legs felt slimmer, and I was able to fit into my petite neighbor’s clothes easier. I then started to skip breakfast, which was easy because my mom was never too pushy about me eating anything in the morning. I’d started running, walking my dog more, exercising as much as I could. I was 13 and 5’7, and probably around 130 pounds, which was on the smaller side. My parents questioned the weight loss but then blamed the stress of their divorce, my changing body, and my increase of physical activity. My friends weren’t as blind though, and started outcasting me. Two girls I was close with started making fun of my weight loss, calling me Anorexic Annie, and telling me to kill myself. The taunting got so bad I tried to convince my parents to let me change schools, but without explaining to them why, there was no hope. I stuck it out at that school until I graduated, and it was on to high school in Manhattan.

My eating habits dwindled down to a mere small meal a day, sometimes less, in freshman year. I’d chosen a high school in Manhattan, far away from my home in Staten Island, just to escape everyone that I knew. I would take the 6:20 AM ferry to the city, and walk all the way from 24th to 13th street to get extra exercise in. Every chance I had I was skipping meals, and purging if I felt I had eaten too much. I went from a size 9 to a size 1 in a matter of months, without any repercussions. Until I stopped getting my period. My mom noticed because I had stopped asking her to buy me pads, and questioned when the last time I had menstruated was. I lied and told her it was two weeks prior, and she pressured me. I remember crying and begging her not to take me to the doctor’s, that it was normal to miss a few periods. She asked if it was also normal for me to be getting sick constantly, since at this time I had caught a cold every two weeks. She asked if it was normal for me to sleep until 2 PM every day that I could, if it was normal for me to bruise so easily, for me to suddenly become anemic. I told my mom for the first time in my life that day that I hated her and that I shouldn’t have been born, that I hated that she was my drunk mother, that she didn’t love me. I’m positive I selfishly broke my mother’s heart that day. She took away my phone for a month, and sent me a few blocks away to live at my dad’s house. There I shut myself away in my bedroom, sleeping and doing sit-ups. I’d leave only for school or to go to the gym with my other skinny friends, pushing my body to exhaustion. I walked everywhere rather than taking the bus simply because I liked how men looked at my teenage lanky body when they passed in their cars. It was disgusting, self absorbed gratification.

I continued this way all the way to college, seeing a therapist every other week that was no help, my weight fluctuating from 100-120 pounds, ending up in the hospital every now and then due to “unexplained” illness, struggling with dizziness and exhaustion. My hair started to fall out and I cut it all off. I went days without eating right before college, hoping to squeeze into some skinnier clothes that I had bought for my first week of school. I remember moving into my dorm and having my roommate tell me how skinny and pretty I was. My sister would come and visit and bring me junk food, which I gobbled up and then purged when she left. I felt like a prisoner in my own bones.

My first semester I was lost at college. I didn’t fit in anywhere, and what few friends I had made were always critical of my lack of food intake. Until I met Meghan, I was alone. When I met Meghan, I was sitting by myself outside of my dorm hall and she was playing her violin. She had thick meaty arms that were powerful and talented, and she was a larger girl. We talked about her music experience, and she commented how tiny I was, joking that I was a model. As our friendship grew, Meghan invited me over her house and would try and cook for me. She noticed that I would barely touch the food she made, and always tried to ask if it was because I didn’t like her cooking, or if something was going on. I blamed it on OCD, saying I was just particular about what I would and wouldn’t eat, and that she shouldn’t be worried. Meg continued to push me about why I was so thin, and prompted me to join a group of students that all got together twice a week for some guidance. She suggested I try a therapist, telling me that a professional would be able to help. When I was in my second semester of freshman year, I started weekly meetings with a school funded psychologist under the premises that I just “needed a little mental release.” What I found sitting in the offices of Dr. Kim was comfort and support, a woman that understood what I was suffering from. She recommended outpatient therapy groups, nutritionists, and worked with me to begin to eat again.

At first it was absolute mental torture. I stopped fitting into size 1’s and 3’s. I filled out, and felt fat. I only ate peanut butter and apple slices for lunch, sticking to the same kinds of foods, trying to regain my control. But I noticed such a difference. I was emotionally overwhelmed with how much more energy I had, how everyone was telling me that I looked better. Meg was the most supportive for me, bringing me food at my dorm, talking me through the roughest stages of relapses, always hugging me as warmly as she could to let me know that I wasn’t alone. She always said that she was glad I was her best friend whenever she saw me, and it gave me a sense of self worth that I never had before.

When my parents came to visit, I had a long talk with my mom about me being in outpatient. She became aggravated telling me that I was being dramatic, that I didn’t have an eating disorder, I was just faking it. It was incredibly hurtful to me that she would belittle my struggles, and this harmed my progress for some time. I took three weeks off from therapy, and began making myself puke with a toothbrush every time I ate. My stomach burned with resentment and anger, and I lost several pounds in a matter of days. It was then that I made the worst decision of my life.

On March 19th of 2014 I tried to take my own life by swallowing a bottle of pills. I felt helpless, like my eating disorder had eaten away every last part of me, and I just wanted to escape the pain I was feeling from everywhere around me. My roommate found me doubled over on the floor in our dorm, clutching my stomach, half unconscious and called 911. I don’t remember much of that day, or the weeks after it. I know I had my stomach pumped and that I suffered multiple massive seizures in the ambulance on the way to the ER. I was medicated and hospitalized for two weeks, most of which was spent with eating disorder specialists and a professional that diagnosed me with body dysmorphia, suicidal tendencies, OCD, and anorexia. I was discharged and left in the hands of my watchful sister. She sat me down and talked to me about her drug addiction struggles in college, and continually told me how much my family loved me. She cooked my favorite foods, and bought me new bigger clothes that were my “grow into” clothes, things that would fit nicely once I was fully healthy. Meghan was in my corner too, taking me for froyo, cooking me cookies, loving me as hard as she could. From beginning to end, my eating disorder took away almost all of my teenage years, and consumed my every thought for countless days and nights.

Now, at 22, I’m 180 pounds. I eat healthy but don’t restrict myself, and I’m proud of my shape. I went from a 30 A bra size to a 36 DDD with my weight gain. I’m now a size 12 in jeans, and couldn’t be prouder. As an adult I realize so much that I wish I had known as a kid. I discovered the power of self love, and how sexy a woman can be when she allows herself to truly be free of worry surrounding her shape or size. I’ve discovered how relaxing and enjoyable eating a nice fulfilling meal can be, how fun it is to try new types of foods and different restaurants. I’ve been successful in college and in my career life, and now live on my own in an apartment, without any full length mirrors. I try not to stress about what other women look like in comparison to me because we’re all shaped differently. I don’t get caught up on the Kardashians’ new bodies, or the latest ANTM episodes because I realize so many of those girls are miserable, trapped in their own bodily prisons. I wish as a teenager someone had told me how great it would feel to have a full head of hair that wasn’t constantly falling out, or how much better my body feels when I get my period normally rather than every few months. I can’t lie and say that I don’t feel fat every few days, but I also tell myself that it’s all relative, and that I’m blessed to be alive. My parents don’t speak about my mental breakdown or my eating disorder, but my sister does on occasion, and tells me how proud she is of me whenever she sees me. We’re now the same size in pants which is great because I can always “borrow” her jeans when I go to visit (and sometimes “accidentally” end up taking them home with me.) I’m still incredibly close with Meghan, although we live far away from each other now. When I go back to visit her we always get froyo and talk about how lucky we are to be friends. Now that I’m more mature, I realize how much of my struggle was peer pressure to look my best, and how much of it was also me grasping for power when I felt so weak in everything that was happening in my life.

If you’re struggling from an eating disorder, you aren’t alone. So many men and women struggle, especially teenagers and young adults. It’s hard to acknowledge when you need help, and sometimes you don’t realize until it’s too late. I wish I had stopped before my hair began to shed, or before my teeth became yellowed from throwing up so much. But I’m lucky that my suicide attempt and eating disorder didn’t take away this beautiful life from me. I’m grateful everyday to be the woman that I am, full figured, and strong. I hope you read this and realize that you aren’t alone, and that there is someone out there that cares about you. I hope you realize that your worth depends on everything but your body size, and that you have an entire life to look forward to.

source https://helpingdisorders.com/my-eating-disorder-story/ source https://helpingdisorders.tumblr.com/post/172257198626

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pennychavez · 7 years ago

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PTSD Treatment Centers San Diego

San Diego PTSD Treatment Centers

Women, Children, Veterans and Military Personnel in the Time of War and Conflict

In this day and age, conflict and war is no longer a rare occurrence that people get pulled into. Political conflicts, religious disagreements, and hate, in particular, are the causes of the various firefights and senseless killings around the world. While there are many governing bodies and institutions that are looking to help resolve the violent conflicts to achieve a global state of peace, the sad fact remains that cases like these cannot be avoided as long as all sides are willing to cooperate. If you or someone you love is struggling and would like to speak with someone about help from a PTSD treatment center in San Diego California please contact us now by clicking on the contact tab.

Currently, there are countless firefights occurring back and forth in many areas in the world; most particularly in Middle Eastern countries. The fights have brought nothing but pain and losses to those who are stuck at the center of it. Clashing ideologies and radical beliefs are also at the center of these conflicts which many are dying from.

Countless lives are affected by war and at the forefront of these unwanted occurrences are soldiers who are fighting for the protection and well being of others. These soldiers have undergone rigorous training before being destined to war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq. The training they receive is designed to push a human body to its limits so that it can overcome any situation.

The Soldiers’ Sacrifice

Other than expanding their physical capabilities, soldiers are also trained to become mentally and psychologically tough. In doing so, they are able to surpass any adversity through determination and a savvy on ranged and melee combat. Despite the rigorous training, some soldiers are still prone both physical and mental anguish. Regardless of how high we look at these soldiers, we must never forget that they are only human and being in the line of fire is no walk in the part.

We’ve all heard stories about the Vietnam and World Wars and how the survivors from them have to live through a case known as post-traumatic stress disorder. It may sound like a light condition for some but in actuality, PTSD has drastic effects on a human mind and those who never get the chance to seek help are bound to suffer day in and day out.

70% of adults in the United States have been on the receiving end of a traumatic state at least once during their lifetime. From a grander perspective, that 70 percent is equal to a staggering 223.4 million people. This basically means that there are countless individuals who could be suffering from PTSD, which is something that we should not take lightly.

PTSD – the Unfortunate Upshot of Wars to Soldiers

This state is for the population of the United States in general and it does not refer only to the military population. Studies have revealed that 1 in 5 soldiers return from war-torn areas like Iraq and Afghanistan return home with PTSD. Even more harrowing is the fact that the number of diagnosed cases continue to jump up each year. That’s just the undiagnosed cases though as there could be a lot of others who are unwilling to open up. In actuality, a lot of others are affected by the disorder.

Yes, the harsh reality is that PTSD can happen to anyone and it is not just limited to people who are active in military combat or those who have been a part of previous wars. Men, women, children; everyone is prone to this disruptive disorder so long as they’ve been through a harsh struggle in life.

The Golden State’s Few and Proud

People who enlist in the army or other military groups come from all walks of life. Each state in the United States is home to countless brave men and women who are willing to fight for peace and the lives of others. Some states, however, contribute more to the overall military population than the others.

North County is the second most populous region in California next to San Diego. The area is known for its vibrant night life, extravagant houses, beaches, and more. It is also an area in the United States that carry a vast number of military members and officials.

Military Population in North County

San Diego’s North County massive military population is due to the fact that the area is where a ton of military bases are situated at. In total, the state of California is home to a whopping 32 military bases situated across the shorelines and across the state. The Golden State has the most military bases out of all the states in America. The Navy and Marine Corps are mostly taking bases in San Diego while the rest of the state houses the United States Army.

This should not be a surprise anymore but California is the state that houses the most military active-duty personnel. As of September 2017, the state of California is the home to a staggering 184,540 military personnel, most of which are active in their line of work. In total, there are 1.3 million active duty military personnel in the United States.

In total, there are 128, 737 active military members in California. 6,567 are from the Army, 44,838 are from the Navy, 55,101 are from the Marine Corps., 17,243 are from the Air Force and 4,624 are from the Coast Guard.

What’s good though is that with all the military bases situated around the Golden State, California remains to be one of the safest areas in the United States. The soldiers in these military bases are more than ready to spring into action whenever they are needed and as such, Californians can rest easy most of the time knowing that they are being safe guarded by highly trained individuals.

The Growing Concern of PTSD in California

Like most people in this line of work, the military personnel in the state of California are very prone to experiencing traumatic events. PSTD in the military is rather common. As active personnel, they are tasked with springing into action when necessary and they could face tough adversity along the way.

The Others Who Suffer Through PTSD

As stated, everyone can be a victim of PTSD so long as they went through a horrible experience. Women, children and especially veterans from previous wars are very prone to it and in fact, they attribute a huge number to the total cases of PTSD cases in the United States. Locating some of the best PTSD support groups San Diego locations can sometimes be difficult.

According to studies, 1 out of every 9 women develops PTSD. That makes them the gender most prone to it, as they are twice as likely as men. PTSD causes in adults vary but for women, the most common cause for them is through sexual harassment encounters and advances. Women are victims of cases like these and as such, their PTSD cases continue to grow.

Although there are men and women who experience sexual assaults, such traumatic incident is most common in women. And among the traumatic events that could happen to a person, sexual assault is known as one of the main causes of PTSD. That being said, apart from war veterans, PTSD is also prevalent in women compared to men.

PTSD in Children and Young Adults

Of course, the young ones; including children and teens are also victims of PTSD. Since they are at such a young age, traumatic experiences leave a long-lasting imprint on their memories as their minds are yet to fully process a keen understanding of events. The traumatic event could range a lot and it includes bullying in school, molestation, and so many more.

Looking at the PSTD statistics, studies show that girls and boys go through at least one traumatic experience in their lifetime. To be more precise, 15% to 43% of girls, and 14% to 43% experience these traumatic events. Of these causes, 3% to 15% in girls develop PTSD and 1% to 6% in boys develop it.

Children and teens that develop PTSD at such a young age and refuse to get treatment for it tend to suffer from the disorder for a really long time. PTSD symptoms vary from person to person but with kids and teens going through it, a part of their symptoms include the inability to interact with others, anxiety, depression, and in worse cases, they develop suicidal tendencies too.

PTSD in Veterans

Of course, another group of PTSD victims worth looking into is the veterans. The different World Wars and the Vietnam Wars has produced a ton of PTSD prone veterans. At such an old age, it is saddening to see these veterans suffer through the events of their past and they are greatly affected by it the most.

Suicidal Tendencies and Mental Illnesses in Veterans

Veterans of modern and previous wars went through a lot and after the war, they would feel like their life has lost its direction. PTSD symptoms in veterans vary from person to person but a common factor among them is that most of them develop suicidal tendencies. If they don’t get help or if their disorders aren’t dealt with immediately, it could eventually lead to them taking their lives and it is something treatment centers are looking to avoid.

War veterans, for example, are one of the people who usually develop such mental illness. No matter how experienced a person is in the war zone, killing someone or almost getting killed could still cause traumas which is the main reason why patients develop PTSD.

There is Hope

The term PTSD is very broad and vague, under it are various ideas and theories but it all boils down to how traumatic events affect and individual’s life in the long run. Though it is a harrowing condition, PTSD is curable and there are even various establishments that center their functions on ridding veterans and other military personnel of PTSD. Before anything else though, it is important to first get a clear understanding of what PTSD is, what it does to an individual, its symptoms, and how it is acquired.

The Effects of PTSD

Most people would feel scared, anxious, or sad when they experienced or witnessed something tragic and it is normal as it is the body’s natural reaction when it senses danger. However, if an individual’s negative feelings did not go away even after a few weeks or months, it might cause further problems.

Inability to Perform Properly

PTSD, as well as other mental health problems, if not treated, can negatively affect an individual’s everyday life and even his or her overall health. Because PTSD includes symptoms that affect a person’s ability to think and focus, he or she would have a hard time performing well at work. PTSD patients also experience changes in their moods thus, it could negatively affect a person’s relationship with others.

PTSD and Depression

Furthermore, PTSD could result in other mental illnesses. PTSD and depression often accompany each other. In fact, more than 40-50% of diagnosed PTSD patients also experienced depression. And depression is also often linked to other mental health problems. Thus, there is a possibility that a person struggling with PTSD could develop other mental illness if left untreated.

The Link Between PTSD and the Brain

In addition, persons with untreated PTSD are prone to greater health risks. It is still unknown to experts as to why PTSD patients are more prone to physical health problems. However, it may be because of the changes happening in the brain. Experts think that this activity in the brain could make the body vulnerable to health issues such as hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders as well as abnormalities in the thyroid, etc.

Causes and Development of PTSD

When a person directly experiences something tragic events like terrible accidents, natural disasters, or war, he or she could develop PTSD. Domestic violence, physical abuse, sexual assaults, or any catastrophic events that are very traumatic for a person could also result in PTSD. However, those who experience life-threatening or depressing tragedies at first hand are not the only ones who are likely to develop such mental illness. Even those who have witnessed such horrendous incidents, as well as those who already had mental problems in the past, are not safe from developing PTSD as well.

In spite of the statistics that prove that PTSD is real and could happen to anyone, not everyone who experienced or witnessed a traumatic incident has a high chance of developing PTSD.

Factors That Cause PTSD

There are lots of factors that play a part in developing such mental health issue. These are as follows:

Frequency of a tragic event.One of which is the frequency of the incident – is the person physically or sexually assaulted repeatedly? Is the person exposed in a war zone for a longer period of time or whatnot?

The kind of treatment the victim is experiencing in his environment.In addition to that, how an individual is treated by his or her family members or the society after the incident plays a major role. Did he or she receive an ample amount of social support after what had happened? Or was the person criticized for the traumatic incident?

Heredity.The family’s mental health history contributes as well. If there is a history of mental health illness in the family, it is likely that a person who experienced traumas would develop PTSD.

Diagnosing Treating PTSD

The way to treat PTSD in people varies from people to people and it’s up to the heath expert on what the proper treatment should be for an individual. Most people would tend to ask, “How is PSTD diagnosed?” The treatment all begins with the initial process of physical and psychological evaluation.

Treatment centers for PTSD use an array of techniques and devices to give an individual a thorough diagnosis of his case. Considering how California has more PTSD cases than most states because of its massive military personnel population, the state’s facilities offer top-of-the-line service even at the early stages of treatment.

Examination Process

During the examination process, the doctors and the professionals at hand are going to use a criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association to see whether or not the individual is indeed suffering from PTSD.

Experts specializing in mental health also refer to such prerequisites for adults and children older than six years as “Criteria A – H.” Below are the formal criteria to be diagnosed with PTSD.

Criterion A. The person must have been exposed to a threat or an actual death of another person encountered an incident that led to a serious injury or witnessed or experienced sexual or physical violence as well as emotional abuse.

Criterion B. In this criterion, the possible PTSD patient must have experienced recurring, uncontrollable, and/or unwelcomed thoughts or memories – be it expected or unexpected. The person must have also been having nightmares and vivid flashbacks about the traumatic incident that had happened. The person might also experience physical responsiveness to traumatic reminders.

Criterion C. A person struggling with PTSD might also avoid trauma-related stimuli. They would avoid thoughts or feelings that are connected to the traumatic event that they witnessed or experienced. They tend to abstain from people or situations that are related to the cause of their trauma as well.

Criterion D. The mood, as well as the how adults and children who are older than 6 years who suffered from traumatic incident think also changes. Their mood and thoughts could negatively be affected. They would have difficulty remembering key features of the traumatic event, they would have negative beliefs or thoughts about themselves, other people, or even the whole world. They will feel like they are unwanted and would blame themselves for what had happened too. People who struggle with PTSD will lose interest in the activities that they used to like before the traumatic event as well and they would not be able to feel positive emotions.

Criterion E. In this criterion to diagnose a person with PTSD, he or she may experience difficulty in concentrating, he or she may be easily irritated, falling or staying asleep will be hard for him or her, he or she may experience hypervigilance or would be easily startled.

Criterion F, G, and H. These criteria describe how severe the symptoms are. Basically, the symptoms above should have lasted for at least a month, have seriously affected the person’s capability to function and the symptoms should not be caused by the use of any substance, medical illness, or whatnot except the traumatic event itself to be diagnosed with PTSD. Note that these are all for adults, adolescents, and children who are over six years old.

How PTSD in Children is Diagnosed

Children who are under 6 years old have more abstract intellectual and verbal abilities in expressing themselves. The criteria for their PTSD diagnosis are somewhat different than the adults and children who are older than 6 years. Their criteria are more tied up to their development and behavior. For very young children, their symptoms may include the following:

Fear of being detached from their parents

Children (younger than 6 years) would also become more irritable and aggressive

Like the adults, teens, and kids older than 6 years, they too would experience nightmares and sleeping problems

They are likely to lose their previously acquired skills as well such as potty training

Children under 6 years old might also probably develop anxieties and new fears

They would become more hyperactive

And unlike adults and teens, they are likely to act out the traumatic incident through stories, play, or even drawings

Diagnosing PTSD in Children

The treatment process itself is arduous and there are various ways for a patient and his doctors to tackle it. First and foremost, the patients are thought ways and methods to help them cope with PTSD on their own. For self-help methods, patients are taught skills to combat symptoms and they are taught to see themselves on a better light. Most importantly, the patients are taught to rid themselves of problems brought about by PTSD like depression, and substance abuse.

Treatment of PTSD

Treating PTSD is mostly tackled through various psychotherapeutic techniques.

Prolonged Exposure

One method the top treatment centers like those in California and North County use is Prolonged Exposure (PE). In this treatment, patients are helped fight PTSD by helping them understand how to face their negative feelings head-on. Basically, it is the process wherein individuals are taught to live their lives normally.

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Another psychotherapeutic technique used in fighting PTSD is Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). In this processes, patients are taught to express the negative thoughts that come to them in relation to their trauma. It helps patients cope with the fact that they are indeed having troubles with moving on from an event and that they can face it head-on.

Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

Next is the Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) technique. This is a crucial therapeutic technique as it helps a patient process the traumatic event to sort of desensitize it. The process involves recalling the traumatic experience while looking at an object that is moving back-and-forth.

Medications for Treating PTSD

Of course, part of the treatment process also involves the use of various medications which have been proven to be helpful in treating and weakening the symptoms that come bundled with PTSD. Most of the medications come in the form of medicine that helps control depression and anxiety.

These medications commonly called as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors). To be precise, these medications help promote the level of the naturally occurring chemicals in the brain like serotonin and norepinephrine that play a part in affecting how a person feels.

Some of the recommended medication for PTSD include; Sertraline (Zoloft), Paroxetine (Paxil), Fluoxetine (Prozac), Nefazodone (Serzone), Imipramine (Tofranil), Phenelzine (Nardil) and Venlafaxine (Effexor). Doctors aren’t going to be too trigger happy in handing out prescriptions for these drugs though as patients and those near them will have to monitor the intake of the medications to avoid any abuse or overdose.

These medications help a great deal for individuals who are going through the symptoms and effects of PTSD and these are the best supplements to the psychotherapeutic programs as the patient and the doctors will be able to tackle the problem from multiple sides.

Relapse and Recovery

Curing PTSD is not a one-step or one visit process. In fact, patients might even go through the treatment plan for months and even years to completely help themselves recover from the traumatic event or events that they have experienced. Since this is a memory that is implanted in a person’s mind, ridding them of it is no easy task and it requires patience from both the doctor at hand and to the patient himself.

In some cases, people who underwent the treatment process get a relapse of PTSD. In cases like these, it is important for the patient to go back to the treatment process again before it gets any worse. Relapsing for patients is completely normal but it is something that doctors and treatment facilities are always looking to avoid.

Treatment Facilities in California

In California, there are various treatment facilities and counseling centers that are focused on helping out individuals who are suffering from PTSD. These facilities and centers offer a lot of ways to treat PTSD and they do so using a top-notch facility and highly trained professionals.

Inpatient and outpatient programs are available as well. Outpatient programs are usually conducted on those who show mild symptoms of PTSD while the inpatient programs are reserved for those with severe cases. Though both in and out-patient programs have excellent success rates, patients with severe cases are best left under the care of the treatment facilities through in-patient programs.

There are various treatments that individuals can avail to rid themselves of PTSD but it will be up to the professionals to know which of these is perfect for the case of an individual. There’s a suited method for each of those suffering through PTSD and as such, acquiring the help of treatment facilities, doctors, and more, is more than important to fight the disorder.

Moving Forward

It’s hard to really fathom the hardships that those who suffer PTSD go through. While we can never fully understand the trouble and pain that those affected by the disorder go through, we can at least get an insight on how we could help them out through the use of modern-day psychological and medicinal techniques that help individuals cope with PTSD.

Since the disorder chooses no age or gender, nearly everyone can be a victim of it. It’s best to help out our loved ones or those close to us, come to terms with PTSD as it could greatly affect their lives for a really long time. With a knowledge of the symptoms of PTSD, we should make ourselves responsible by pointing out loved ones in the right direction. As always, the way to curing PTSD is by first facing it head on and accepting that it exists within an individual.

For those who are experiencing the same symptoms on their own, then it would be the best move to seek the help of professionals to avoid making PTSD any worse. It’s important to note that PTSD is not something that people should hide from themselves or from those special to them as it is a condition that does not discriminate. Having PTSD does not make one weak or fragile. It does, however, make them very prone to the adverse effects of the condition.

Comforting the Military Men

Many states in the United States including California understand that trouble that comes with PTSD. And since the country has a huge military population, they’ve come to terms with the fact that there are many individuals returning from duty with PTSD in tow. As such, states are always looking to help individuals who are suffering from it and these states are also pushing for more advancements in the treatment process to make it easier and more effective. To locate a California treatment center that specializes in PTSD therapy in San Diego please contact the helpline and speak with an adviser.

In a world as volatile as this, people going through traumatic experiences are no longer rare. There are countless individuals who are going through harsh experiences and they keep it to themselves in hopes of recovering from it. PTSD is a horrible condition and as such, we should all do our part to help those with PTSD and someday, there might come a time when people will no longer have to experience these horrible experiences but that is a future that is still very far off.

Of course, as people who are close to those suffering from PTSD, it is important that we give them all the support and love they deserve before, during, and after the treatment process.

If you or someone you know is looking for a San Diego PTSD treatment center that can discuss options that are available, please contact the number listed below. Helping Disorders main goal is to provide treatment options for people searching for help, thank you for taking the time to review, we hope this article had the information you where seeking.

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pennychavez · 7 years ago

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Commemorating what would have been Chester Bennington’s 42nd...

Commemorating what would have been Chester Bennington’s 42nd Birthday. Chester was known to the world as the lead singer of well renowned metal band Linkin Park. He died last July 2017 due to suicide after battling mental illnesses and substance abuse. Chester was extremely open about how he struggled in his personal life as he shared it to the masses through his music. Chester saved numerous lives through his passion of music and philanthropy and hopefully in his passing we can continue his work. Take A STAND against mental illness, EDUCATE yourself on the warning signs of emotional suffering as well as healthy habits to promote emotional wellbeing! 🖤☄️💪🏼I AM THE CHANGE! WE ARE THE CHANGE! #320changesdirection

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pennychavez · 7 years ago

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Eating Disorder Treatment Centers Temecula

Eating Disorder Treatment Centers Temecula California

Temecula, California Seeks Screening for Eating Disorders

As ground zero for the entertainment industry, Hollywood acts a beacon to up and coming actors and models from surrounding California communities like Temecula. The obsessive focus by those seeking a show business career on body image however has led to eating disorders. The severity has reached a point at which California has proposed a state bill 2539 to regulate the modeling industry by requiring regular health screenings for eating disorders. With an emphasis on awareness, the goal is to identify anyone suffering from an eating disorder before they become a statistic. For a list of the best eating disorder treatment centers in Temecula California please contact our helpline and speak with a representative.

Understanding Eating Disorders

Because food is a part of life, it is difficult to understand how anyone could develop an unhealthy relationship with eating. Yet, as young girls especially seek to match fashion magazine cover model physiques, they turn to drastic diet and exercise routines that rapidly become health issues. Currently thirty million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S., and every sixty-two minutes at least one person dies as a direct result from an eating disorder. Knowing how to identify eating disorders is the first step toward getting someone help.

Battling Bulimia

Bulimia nervosa is a psychological disorder that involves eating large amounts of food in a short period of time and then attempting to purge the food by vomiting, the use of laxatives, or prolonged periods of intense exercise. Someone suffering from bulimia may experience:

Dramatic changes in weight, both gaining and losing weight

The breaking of blood vessels around the eyes resulting in black eyes

The esophagus becoming inflamed due to frequent vomiting

Heartbeat irregularities caused by electrolyte imbalance-this is what most often kills someone with bulimia, as they experience sudden cardiac arrest

Identifying Anorexia

Others with poor body image may turn to extreme fasting to lose weight. Someone suffering from this condition may also be purging as well. But with an intense focus on minimal calorie intake, symptoms of severe weight loss become evident.

Extremely thin underweight appearance that an anorexic may insist is their “body type”

An unhealthy obsession with calories and fat in food

Strange, often obsessive ritualistic eating patterns such as cutting food into very small pieces, hiding food or choosing to always eat alone

Hair loss or thinning hair

Depression and frequent lethargy

Personal isolation and withdrawal

Binge Eating Drives Weight Gain Disorders

While many bulimics will binge eat and then take extreme measures to compensate for food consumption, other binge eating sufferers may swing in the opposite direction. Often a distorted body image will lead to giving up completely when it comes to healthy diet and exercise. For many binge eating may lead to excessive overeating and obesity. The most common characteristics of binge eating include:

Eating well past the point of fullness

Rapidly eating large amounts of food in one sitting

Gorging alone, while eating normally in the company of others

Stockpiling and hiding food

Eating continuously throughout the day, disregarding specific mealtimes

Exercise Addiction: When Fitness Becomes Unhealthy

Though exercise is considered an important part of a healthy lifestyle, obsession with fitness can lead to both physical and emotional disorders. As a behavioral disorder, exercise addiction turns a daily exercise routine into a dependency that removes someone suffering from the disorder from normal social and personal engagement. Research studies determine that approximately three percent of people who exercise regularly are addicted to it. The condition is much more common in people in their late teens or early twenties. Other estimates have found that upward of forty-two percent of regular attendees at the gym meet the criteria for exercise addiction. When exercise becomes an addiction some of the symptoms may include:

An inability to stop exercising after a period to the point that injury or complete exhaustion is experienced

Most of the time is spent at the gym, disregarding social occasions and sometimes even work

Intention effects-when set fitness goals are exceeded unknowingly and on a regular basis

Continuing to exercise even with injuries or other physical problems that are a direct result from excessive exercising

The Complexity of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are complex and many suffering from them may be experiencing a compound of many disorders. For example, an individual may present some of the symptoms of bulimia with occasional purging, but not enough to be identified as a bulimic. Fasting may occur, but not enough for that person to be identified as suffering from anorexia. This configuration of symptoms allows many with eating disorders to slip through the cracks of treatment. That is why those researching the field have established Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified or EDNOS. In fact, forty to sixty percent of people who seek treatment for an eating disorder have EDNOS. Because eating disorders can become very personalized, an aggregate of symptoms indicating one disorder or the other may never appear. In other words, treatment must focus on the individual person.

Signs that a friend or loved one is experiencing this more complex eating disorder may show symptoms that are physical, psychological or emotional.

A constant expression of poor body image

Feeling out of control around food

Using food as a source of comfort, especially eating heavily during periods of depression or anxiety

Using food as personal punishment, refusing to eat for emotional reasons

Rigid perceptions of food as being either good or bad

Getting to the Psychological Roots of Eating Disorders

Just like so many other addictions or obsessions, an underlying psychological issue is usually the root cause of eating disorders. Before an eating disorder begins, there may be emotional red flags that can be identified. If a loved one is suffering from depression, stress or anxiety, they may be on the path to not only eating disorders, but other addictions including drugs, gambling or sex addiction. Helping someone when they first exhibit these issues, means getting them treatment more quickly.

Identifying Depression

Though being blue is common for everyone, when sadness extends into days and weeks, then it may be an indication of clinical depression. True depression can impact work, school and relationships, as well as normal, every day activities such as eating and sleeping. It is estimated that there three-hundred and fifty million people worldwide suffering from depression. There are two specific types of depression that are commonly diagnosed.

Major depression occurs when feelings of chronic sadness persist nearly every day for up to two weeks. An episode may only occur once in a person’s lifetime or there may be several episodes.

Persistent depressive disorder is diagnosed when depression lasts for up to two years or more. This type of depression is defined when a person experiences numerous depressive episodes, off and on, throughout the days and weeks. Unlike major depression, which may be linked to a personal experience such as a death in the family or a divorce, persistent depressive disorder clings to a person on a regular basis. To know depression is to see the signs.

A constant sadness, anxiousness or feeling of emptiness

Pessimistic feelings and hopelessness

Feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness

Loss of interest in work, hobbies, relationships

A loss of energy

Difficulty thinking clearly

Difficulty sleeping, which may appear as insomnia or oversleeping

Changes in appetite or weight

Thoughts of suicide

Restlessness and irritability

Aches and pains that do not seem to have a physical cause

When Stress Becomes a Problem

Stress is a normal part of life, which makes it difficult to define as a problem. There is a breaking point for many when stress, especially from work, becomes the threshold to behavioral disorders. More than sixty percent of Americans identify money and work as the most stressful issues in their lives. When a normal degree of stress leads to problems is when some of the following indicators occur.

Work and family life become more difficult to handle

There is an increased likelihood of fighting with people close to them

Isolation from others, especially family and friends

There are also physical symptoms of stress that are often misdiagnosed as medical disorders

Constant fatigue

Stomach and digestive problems

Headaches

Changes in sex drive

Naturally, stress occurs in three distinct stages. The alarm stage, the stage of resistance and the exhaustion stage. Short periods of stress are normal and can contribute to positive results at work and in home life. However, when these short periods extend over longer durations, stress becomes a significant problem that can lead to other disorders. Identifying when these stress stages are recurring constantly can lead to getting help sooner.

The Alarm Stage-When hormones trigger the fight tor flight response, increasing heart rate and blood pressure. When a challenge is presented to an individual, the alarm stage kicks in.

The Stage of Resistance- When the individual digs in to contend with the challenge. Stored energy is used as the individual engages to overcome obstacles.

The Exhaustion Stage- When the challenge is overcome, the body sinks into fatigue seeking an extended period of rest from the ordeal.

During an occasional stressful event, an individual will experience these stages normally and recover. If these stressful events are continuous, then the body begins to break down and the mind grows weary. At some point, behavioral disorders became the self-medicating antidote to a stressful life.

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Anxiety and Emotional Disorders

Anxiety disorders may include feelings of panic, nervousness and irrational dread. Anxiety may also be linked with depression and is one of the most common emotional problems that lead to behavioral disorders, including eating disorders and substance abuse.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting forty million adults in the United States age eighteen and older, which is about eighteen percent of the population every year. Anxiety disorders are one of the easiest emotional disorders to treat, yet only thirty-six percent of those suffering receive treatment.

Because everyone gets anxious from time to time, it is difficult to personally diagnose a true disorder. However, patterns of anxiety, especially irrational fears that disable daily life, can be diagnosed by a physician and treated. Here are symptoms to look for.

Excessive worry

Though there many legitimate concerns in life, when worry becomes obsessive to the point of derailing normal activities, it may be a problem. Many behavioral disorders start to develop to cope with everyday worry. By changing the focus of the worry into a controllable problem like eating is not uncommon.

Difficulty Sleeping

Not being able to fall asleep or staying asleep is often a result of the excessive worrying. Often turning to drugs and alcohol or overuse of sleeping medications is a common response.

Irrational fears

When fears over something that is harmless haunt a person to the point of avoidance, then it may be a symptom of anxiety disorder.

Constant muscle tension

Tense muscles due to stress may linger long after a day at the office. When physical pain is persistent even in a state of rest then anxiety may be causing the tension.

Chronic stomach problems

If digestive disorders cannot be diagnosed by a medical doctor, anxiety may be the cause for a constant upset stomach or cramps.

Flashbacks

When a past traumatic event continually intrudes into the present, it may be causing anxiety. Trying to avoid the past event through drugs an alcohol or obsessing over other aspects of the present such as weight loss are common.

Obsessive self-consciousness

Focusing on self to the point of obsession can lead to moments of panic. Feeling that everyone is looking at you or watching you and concerns about appearance or behavior can be stunting. Under these circumstances, many suffering from severe anxiety may choose isolation rather than risking engaging with others.

Whether eating disorders appear to be an issue or emotional disorders are interrupting normal life, therapy, medication and specialized treatment is available. Getting treatment sooner rather than later is critical to solving personal issues that can rapidly become physical or medical concerns. Overcoming the obstacles of behavioral and emotional disorders leads to a more positive and more meaningful life.

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