Here is a toolbox of the most widely used treatments:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A psycho-social intervention that intends to improve mental health is the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy definition. CBT can help a patient change the way they think about complex trauma. In one type of cognitive therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a patient can recount their story to the therapist, who will look for the ways to distort its reality. People with PTSD often feel condemned or have a misconception about themselves that the event was their fault. A rape victim might blame or tell herself that it could have happened because of the way she was dressed. A soldier might say, feeling guilty, that, “I let my buddy die in combat.” In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the therapist helps a patient defy thoughts like these.

The National Center for PTSD divides CPT into four parts:

• Learning about PTSD signs and how therapy can help.
• Becoming conscious of feelings and thoughts.
• Learning abilities to test your thoughts and feelings.
• Understanding differences in beliefs that take place after trauma.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) drugs are not a cure for PTSD, but some are useful for treating symptoms. This drug increases the level of Serotonin in the brain making you feel better. Other medications can be helpful at quieting nightmares and fostering restful sleep. The National Center for PTSD warns against Benzodiazepines. These anti-anxiety pills don’t treat the core PTSD signs and can also be addictive.

Prolonged Exposure (PE)

PE makes you confront your fear by recalling the traumatic experience or event in as much detail as you can and reiterating your story. While going through the process, you develop the skills to relax and manage your emotions and feelings. PE makes you re-enter any safe situation that you intentionally have been avoiding. This revisiting of a safe place is called In Vivo Exposure.

The therapies listed above are credible and well established. Other methods have less of a track record but may work for certain types of patients. These include family therapy and group therapy.

Self-Help and Additional Steps

In addition to these treatments and seeing a trauma therapist, can you do anything on your own? The answer is yes. Here are some self-help steps (and apps) that experts suggest:

• Mindfulness. Paying attention to your daily activities and how they make you feel. Accept your beliefs and feelings without assessing them. Practices like these have shown results in calming anxiety, a key part of PTSD.
• Changing your lifestyle. Start exercising. Search out other trauma survivors. Many people benefit from peer-to-peer support. Stay away from drinking alcohol and using drugs. Work on your relationships. Search for a way to make something meaningful out of the trauma.
• Joining a peer support group. These kinds of groups give you a platform to discuss your problems with people who have experienced trauma. Communicating with peers can overcome the symptoms of PTSD and help make you feel lighter and better. It is suggested to join such groups while going through a course of PTSD treatment.

Self-help is a good idea, but it is important to get trauma therapy with or without medication as soon as possible. Studies show that early intervention has the best results.

If you are in a crisis, you should call 911 or visit a hospital emergency room. Or you may need to call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Keep in mind that you’ll want a therapist who specializes in the healing of trauma. You’ll also want one who knows the full range of options for treatment and can explain them to you so that you can make a fully informed choice.