The PTSD Workbook: Simple, Effective Techniques for Overcoming Traumatic Stress Symptoms

✍ Scribed by Mary Beth Williams PhD LCSW CTS, Soili Poijula PhD

• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 362
• Edition: Second Edition, Revised
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an extremely debilitating anxiety condition that can occur after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal. Although many know that this mental health issue affects veterans of war, many may not know that it also affects victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, natural disasters, crime, car accidents and accidents in the workplace. No matter the cause of their illness, people with PTSD will often relive their traumatic experience in the form of flashbacks, memories, nightmares, and frightening thoughts. This is especially true when they are exposed to events or objects that remind them of their trauma. Left untreated, PTSD can lead to emotional numbness, insomnia, addiction, anxiety, depression, and even suicide.

In The PTSD Workbook, Second Edition, psychologists and trauma experts Mary Beth Williams and Soili Poijula outline techniques and interventions used by PTSD experts from around the world to offer trauma survivors the most effective tools available to conquer their most distressing trauma-related symptoms, whether they are a veteran, a rape survivor, or a crime victim. Based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the book is extremely accessible and easy-to-use, offering evidence-based therapy at a low cost. This new edition features chapters focusing on veterans with PTSD, the link between cortisol and adrenaline and its role in PTSD and overall mental health, and the mind-body component of PTSD.

This book is designed to arm PTSD survivors with the emotional resilience they need to get their lives back together after a traumatic event.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 8
Introduction......Page 10
A Look at Trauma: Simple and Complex......Page 14
Before Doing the Work: Safety, Security, and Intention......Page 44
Identifying and Writing about What Has Happened to You......Page 66
Helping Yourself When You Reexperience a Trauma......Page 77
Coping with Trauma with Less Avoidance and Denial......Page 103
Lessening Arousal: What to Do If You Can’t Sleep, Can’t Relax, or Are Angry and Irritable......Page 115
Stress, Trauma, and Your Body......Page 149
Dealing with Associated Symptoms of PTSD: Guilt, Survivor Guilt, Shame, and Loss......Page 159
For Veterans Returning from War: Tools for Personal Survival......Page 183
Difficulty Regulating Emotion......Page 201
Alterations in Attention or Consciousness: Dealing with Dissociation and Traumatic Amnesia......Page 230
A Bit More about Somatization: How Trauma Impacts Your Body......Page 236
How Trauma Impacts the Way You View Yourself......Page 240
Dealing with Your Perpetrators......Page 266
Alterations in Your Relationships with Others......Page 270
Finding Meaning......Page 297
Final Thoughts and Exercises......Page 312
Complex PTSD Questionnaire for Trauma Survivors......Page 329
The Stressors of War Checklist......Page 338
References......Page 352