Finding help for any mental health condition can be overwhelming. Practice self-compassion, it goes a long way.
‘We would never tell someone with a broken leg that they should stop wallowing and get it together. We shouldn’t treat mental health conditions any differently.’ -Michelle Obama
I have been on this journey for about twenty-five years, and I can assure you, it does get better. The hardest part of treating any mental health condition is knowing where to start. There are reputable and compassionate therapists and psychiatrists who have dedicated their lives to helping others; they are out there, you just have to look.
The overarching theme that I have noticed in recent years is the extreme price hikes for specialty therapies. Service provided by a therapist is relatively low if you have insurance. If you do not, most states have free or reduced-rate individual therapy. If you do not have insurance, reach out to your local state or city equality branch. They will have dedicated resources for those who cannot follow the traditional insurance route. The LGTBQ+ community in most states do look out for others. Google [your state] + Diversity/Equality.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Unlike other treatments that focus directly on altering the emotions and thoughts, EMDR therapy focuses directly on the memory, and is intended to change the way that the memory is stored in the brain, thus reducing and eliminating the problematic symptoms.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Cognitive Therapy (CT) focus on the relationship among thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and note how changes in any one domain can improve functioning in the other domains.
Ketamine Therapy KT is a treatment approach that uses low doses of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic medication, to manage various mental health conditions, such as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Statistics in the U.S.:
- The National Library of Medicine surveyed twenty-four countries and found that "Over 70% of respondents reported a traumatic event; 30.5% were exposed to four or more."
- The Trevor Project released an article with statistics depicting the ages and race that trauma effects and said, "More than one in three (37%) LGBTQ youth ages 13–24 reported high levels of trauma symptoms."
The American Journal of Psychiatry
Ketamine for PTSD: Well, Isn’t that interesting
Credible websites and YouTube channels for tips:
Manitoba Trauma Information and Education Center
The Crappy Childhood Fairy - This is Who Heals From Trauma