About 8% of the population will have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point in their lives. In a given year, about eight million people struggle with this condition. Not everyone receives the help they need, though.
Are you currently struggling with PTSD? At some times, it can feel suffocating. Learning how to start coping with PTSD is essential.
Otherwise, this condition could impact your quality of life. You might start to feel like certain situations aren’t in your control.
Here are 10 tips that can help with managing PTSD. With these tips, you can take control of your life again.
Read on to discover how to cope with PTSD today.
1. Work Up a Sweat
Exercise can benefit your mind and body. You can boost serotonin production, too. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter responsible for stabilizing your mood and feelings of well-being.
It also plays a part in your sleeping, eating, and digestion.
If your brain is producing too little serotonin, it could lead to depression. You might develop anxiety as well. Instead, you can use exercise to boost your serotonin production.
You might find coping with PTSD gets a little easier as a result.
Exercise is often used to help people better cope with stress. Try to take a 10-minute walk every day. You could ease your anxiety and depression symptoms as a result.
Stepping outside to get a little vitamin D from the sun’s rays could boost your mood, too.
Experiment with different forms of exercise to see what works best for you. For example, you can pick up:
- Walking
- Jogging
- Biking
- Tennis
- Basketball
- Swimming
- Dancing
Even a little yard work can help you work up a sweat! You can build your endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility at the same time, too.
If you’re still struggling to manage your PTSD symptoms, try yoga as well. Yoga can soothe the mind while strengthening the body.
- Help with back pain relief
- Benefit your heart health
- Ease arthritis symptoms
- Improve flexibility, balance, and strength
- Boost your mental and physical energy levels
- Promote alertness and enthusiasm
- Brighten your mood
- Help manage your stress
Try exercising with other people, too. Connecting with a community can help combat feelings of loneliness.
Otherwise, choose physical activities that keep your mind focused and absorbed. Trying something new can help you focus your thoughts.
2. Try Aromatherapy
Breathing in certain scents could reduce chronic stress symptoms. It might help people coping with PTSD, too. Consider adding aromatherapy to your routine.
You can use a diffuser to fill the air with relaxing lavender, tea tree oil, or other scents. Otherwise, consider taking a relaxing bath. A long soak in hot water can ease your stress and help soothe your sore muscles.
Otherwise, tension can add to your stress and anxiety.
Experiment with different scents to determine what helps you relax.
3. Use Mindful Meditation
If you enjoy yoga and aromatherapy, consider giving mindful meditation a try, too. Mindfulness-based treatments could help you cope with PTSD. A few treatments include:
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction
- Mantram repetition practice
- Mindfulness-based exposure therapy
- Meditation-relaxation
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Each form of mindful meditation can help reduce avoidance. It could help you stop self-blaming for the incident that triggered your PTSD, too.
4. Get a Pet
Consider spending time with a pet as a way of managing PTSD symptoms. In fact, there are pets that are trained to recognize PTSD symptoms. They could help prevent and interrupt your symptoms from impacting your daily life.
A single week with a specially-trained dog could improve PTSD symptoms by over 80%.
These trained dogs can help if you’re experiencing symptoms like restlessness, night sweats, and nightmares.
5. Take a Deep Breath
Take a deep breath. Deep breathing gets your diaphragm, or the large muscle in your abdomen, involved. Your belly should rise and fall with each breath.
If you breathe using your chest and shoulders instead, it can cause short, shallow breaths. Breathing this way could increase your stress and anxiety levels.
Learning how to breathe deeply can protect you from additional stress and anxiety. You can use deep breathing exercises to combat your PTSD.
6. Relax Your Muscles
Progressive muscle relaxation could help ease your stress and anxiety, too. This form of relaxation requires you to tense and relax different muscle groups.
Remember, muscle tension could increase your anxiety levels. Instead, you can learn to ease this tension and relax over time.
7. Find Support
You don’t have to start coping with PTSD alone. As you use this guide, consider seeking help, too. Finding support from others could help negate the negative effects of a traumatic event.
Look for someone you trust to talk to. They can help talk you through stressful situations.
Otherwise, consider finding a support group led by a professional. They can give you more effective tips for managing PTSD.
8. Express Yourself
Art can help you express yourself and your feelings. You could learn how to cope with your stress and anxiety as a result.
For example, you can use journaling to process your thoughts and emotions. Otherwise, try other forms of art therapy, such as painting and sculpting.
9. Identify Your Triggers
As you work through these tips for managing PTSD, take the time to identify your triggers, too. Understanding your triggers can help you better manage your symptoms.
For example, you can avoid people, places, and things that remind you of your traumatic experience.
Triggers are internal and external. For example, physical pain or feeling lonely could trigger your PTSD. A song, show, or certain smells might act as a trigger, too.
10. Try a Retreat
Remember, you don’t have to work through this process alone. Consider finding therapy for PTSD. A retreat could help you find an opportunity to heal.
You can work through your PTSD and reclaim your life using private, intensive therapy.
You can check here to learn what to expect from an intensive therapy retreat.
Learning to Live: 10 Tips for Coping With PTSD
Your PTSD doesn’t have to control your life. Instead, give these 10 tips for coping with PTSD a try. These tips could help you gain the tools you need to ease your stress and anxiety.
You’re not going through this alone. We’re here to help.
Contact us today to learn more about our therapy retreats.