PTS (post-traumatic syndrome) treatment in the clinic MedicoMente – Kiev, Ukraine

Every person may experience or witness an event that one way or another affects his/her mental state. If the shock us especially strong or the person has an unstable emotional background, then he may develop PTS – post-traumatic syndrome.

PTS (or PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder) is a mental disorder that develops after various shocking events, which is characterized by intrusive memories, nightmares, flashbacks and other symptoms. In general, the syndrome usually occurs in people who have had powerful traumatic experiences.

Studies show that PTS is most often diagnosed in people who had been prisoners of war, tortured or experienced other types of violence. Those who have survived fires or other natural disasters are less at risk of developing the disorder.

The risk of developing PTS after experiencing physical abuse is 11.9%. In case of rape, the probability is already 19%. The stress of losing loved ones rarely triggers the syndrome. In percentage terms, this is 1.3%. The most vulnerable to the syndrome are military personnel. Due to the unstable situation in Ukraine, 26% of servicemen showed signs of PTS.

Different situations and experiences can cause PTS. People at risk:

• victims of sexual violence;
• those grown in troubled families, experiencing physical and emotional abuse;
• victims or witnesses of a cruel crime;
• injured in a car or other accident;
• those survived in natural disasters;
• war veterans (or prisoners of war).

Note. According to statistics, women suffer from post-traumatic syndrome twice more often than men.

The post-traumatic stress symptoms are very diverse and depend on the individual characteristics of the victim. The first manifestation of symptoms begins after 3 months from the experience. If a year has passed without symptoms, then PTS most likely will not appear.

A psychological trauma survivor becomes anxious and irritable. Very often he/she is obsessed with thoughts and memories of the event. Familiar images appear in their minds, which are often embellished. If the victim has experienced violence associated with another person, then it often seems to him that he sees the same person in the crowd. Panic attacks begin. The person loses his/her appetite and sleep mode, the body begins to deplete, and the emotional background becomes unstable due to the lack of normal sleep. The patient suffers from nightmares and bad dreams.

Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder is provided in Kyiv at MedicoMente medical center. The sooner the victim seeks help, the sooner he will get rid of the problem and return to a normal life.

Doctors distinguish several types of post-traumatic syndrome:

• Acute. The duration of the syndrome reaches 3 months. Distinctive features are pronounced symptoms and the severe course.
• Chronic. Symptoms increase gradually. Within six months, the nervous system is depleted, the emotional background becomes very shaky. The victim loses interests in something and develops apathy.
• Deformation. Observed in people who already had chronic mental disorders before the traumatic event. This complicates the course of the disease.
• Delayed. The first symptoms may appear 6 months after the injury. They are usually provoked by some kind of external stimuli.

Methods of treatment:

One of the common methods of treatment is medication. However, its effectiveness has been questioned in recent years. Many drugs have been proved to be practically ineffective. Nevertheless, three drugs (fluoxetine, paroxetine, and venlafaxine) have been shown to have a consistent therapeutic effect. However, they do not solve the very essence of the problem but only reduce its severity.

Using tricyclic antidepressants that are equally effective makes sense. While the use of benzodiazepines and glucocorticoids is undesirable as they can cause drug-like addiction.

Now it is worth considering the known inside out psychotherapy methods that have shown their effectiveness for PTSD:

• Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBP), usually divided into two methods:

Exposure method. A psychologist immerses the person in the traumatizing event. They model it in reality or in imagination. If done correctly, the patient develops addiction at the emotional level and the response to the traumatic trigger decreases.

Stress-inoculation method. The patient and his/her psychologist identify triggers and then form coping strategies to overcome the situation that has arisen. In other words, the victim plays the event in his imagination, but comes out of it as a winner on a psychological level. This is facilitated by the use of relaxation and grounding techniques.

• Dialectical behavior therapy
  DBT is based on improving mindfulness skills, stress tolerance, and on effective interpersonal communication.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy
  ACT is to teach the victim not to mask his/her emotions and feelings, but to accept them as they are. It is required to develop an “outside view” in order to soberly assess the situation that has occurred. Bad thoughts about oneself should be just a label to get rid of.
  The patient needs to define his/her values and start acting with them. He/she has to live the moment, “here and now”, rather than “then and there”. This helps to overcome feelings of sadness, anger, and irritation. Such a therapeutic approach does not allow one to completely forget the trauma but can mitigate the impact of experiences and improve the quality of life.
• Use of psychedelic substances.
  Ibogaine therapy includes four main stages:

Stage of changes: lasts for 2-2.5 hours: hearing becomes more sensitive, sounds become vibrating and booming, there is a violation of coordination of movements. After 1-2 hours, ibogaine can cause an increase in blood pressure by 10-15%, an increase in heart rate (especially if a person has experienced anxiety before), and a slowdown in the heartbeat.

Visualization stage: like a movie or alternating slides that reflect life events. Hallucinations begin, in which people see themselves from the outside and travel through the labyrinths of their memory, driven by a mysterious “guide”, sometimes called the “spirit of iboga”. The patient revises his/her life, important moments or the experience of strong sensations. Ibogaine causes a shift in consciousness and leads to awareness at the level of the experienced psychological trauma. Ibogaine allows you to experience suppressed problems and fears and look at oneself and the world around in a different way. The visualization stage usually lasts 3-12 hours, then the viewing stops abruptly.

Awareness and assessment of the vision: the attitude of a person to his/her life and decisions. During his/her life, everyone makes decisions, and sometimes it seems it had to be one thing or another. Revision of situations under the influence of ibogaine makes the patient return to some situations, reevaluate them and see alternative solutions. This can lead to changes in decisions made in the present, including the desire to get rid of addiction.

Exit or completion: this is followed by a state of immobility and rest, when the person lies completely motionless and/or drowses. This condition differs from paralysis or sleep, as the patient is able to get up and walk, while experiencing certain difficulties. Ibogaine causes temporary sleep and even biological rhythms disturbance. Sleep duration is reduced to 3-4 hours per day, which usually disappears on days 2-3 of Ibogaine therapy. After that, all physiological processes in the body are restored. The level of the mental state changes significantly and the person gets rid of his problem forever.

Treatment of post-traumatic syndrome in Kyiv is provided at the MedicoMente medical center. We offer the 4-star hotel stay conditions.

The patients may enjoy:

• spacious, clean, well-lightened, up to 3-bed rooms;
• full board, considering individual preferences;
• security;
• gyms;
• TV and Internet;
• massages, beautician services.

Our qualified specialists in Kyiv will help you get rid of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress forever and start a new full-fledged life.

Address: Medovaia Str., 10., Kalyna horticultural society, Hnedynska village council, Boryspil district, Kyiv region

Comfortable settings, attentive staff, confidentiality, and security will promote your speedy recovery.

Make an appointment:

• fill in the form on our website at https://medicomente.com/kontakty/
  or
• by E-mail: info@medicomente.com
  or
• by phone +38-095 -550-85-25

PTS treatment at MedicoMente, Kyiv, is provided with the use of original methods of therapy, by highly-skilled specialists in excellent accommodation. A person already sees the result of treatment by the time of discharge. The treatment time is determined on an individual basis after a comprehensive examination (on average 14 days). Support from relatives and friends means much for the patient’s therapy.

Advantages of MedicoMente:

• highly-skilled professional personnel;
• comfortable accommodation;
• affordable prices;
• use of unique methods of treatment.

The pricelist is available on the clinic’s website. Contact our specialists by phone. Do not hesitate to ask for help. PTSD can really be cured!