PTSD: Checking In With Yourself

When you have PTSD, it's a good idea to check in with yourself and to be aware of your symptoms.

This can help you know how you're doing or if a treatment is working.

If you're in treatment, work with your therapist to see how you're doing over time.

This helps you know how well the treatment is working or if it's time to try a new treatment.

If you've finished treatment, continue to pay attention to how you're doing so you can notice any signs that you might be struggling or slipping back to unhealthy ways of coping.

If you see these old patterns, review the skills you learned in treatment or contact your doctor or therapist.

Some people go back to treatment for a little extra help.

So what should you be watching for?

Here are some questions you might ask yourself ... Have you felt nervous, moody, or angry a lot?

Are you having stressful thoughts, flashbacks, or memories?

Are you avoiding certain places, people, or situations?

Are you sleeping well? Having stressful dreams?

Are you staying in touch with friends and family?

It can also help to ask loved ones if they see any changes in you.

Before treatment or when you first start, it might help to track how you're doing each day.

And then as you get better you can do it less often, like once a week.

Writing down how you've been feeling, and what was happening when you felt that way, can help you be more aware of what triggers your symptoms so you can plan for how to deal with those things.

[Angie] "I still have those anxious thoughts occasionally, but paying attention to what triggers them ... like the anniversary of my wreck, or anytime it snows ... helps prepare me for that."

[Meredith] "I write down how I'm feeling every week and if the guilt starts to creep back in, I'm better now at seeing the events in my past in a way that's accurate and fair to myself."

[Justin] "The memory is still there, but I'm not living in it all the time now.

And I've learned to watch how I'm feeling ... to know when it's a bad day ... when I need to take a walk ... to get my head clear ... so when I'm with my family, I'm really there."