Trauma is an emotive word, and the experience of trauma is intensely personal. People respond differently and cope with their unique set of skills when faced with a distressing experience. Three key words are trauma, after (post) trauma, and stress. How do you deal with trauma during an event, how do you cope afterward, and what do you do about the stress it induces?
Putting a label on what is happening can hinder or help, but PTSD manifests as a result of a myriad of possible circumstances, sometimes only raising its ugly head years later.
Trauma happens anywhere and everywhere. A ubiquitous issue, trauma is exposure to a specific incident or series of events that are life-threatening or emotionally distressing, and that negatively impacts the individual's functioning. This includes effects on physical, mental, emotional, social, and/or spiritual well-being, and may arise from serious accidents, terrorist acts, war or combat, natural disasters, bullying, rape or sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and historical trauma.
The types of experiences that could be experienced as traumatic, as it is based on the lived experience of the individual.
War, abuse, and death are events that induce traumatic stress with people being frightened after the danger has been removed, but trauma can arise out of many things. A sudden, unexplained separation from a loved one, for example in the case of alienation, childhood neglect, racism, poverty, or violence within a community can threaten well-being too, as can other harrowing encounters faced.
Known as shell shock during WWI and combat fatigue after WWII, PTSD is prevalent in combat veterans, but by no means limited to them.
It can happen to anyone who has experienced or witnessed trauma- emotionally, physically, or as life-threatening, resulting in a negative impact on physical, mental, social, and/or spiritual well-being.
It can occur at any age and people often carry their trauma with them for years, finding ways to numb the pain that eventually spills over into other areas of life. As this happens, seeking help for what happened to you can be avoided through self-blame, compounded by a feeling there is something inherently wrong with you.
Continuing for longer than a month after the traumatic event, or after the danger is removed, the stress slowly permeates different aspects of life, morphing into PTSD. Exploring the possibility that PTSD is a factor takes establishing whether the things that are preventing you from living your best life can be linked to the traumatic incident or events- and the coping mechanisms that mask the underlying issue.
Intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to the experience are ruminated on long after the traumatic event has ended, or flashbacks and nightmares become prevalent. Feelings of sadness, fear or anger appear as some start feeling detached or estranged from other people, avoiding any reminder of the traumatic event. A loud noise or an accidental touch can elicit strong negative reactions.
Soon, things start happening that go beyond just pulling yourself together and putting on a temporary happy face like a crocodile jacket to protect yourself from the world. Coping is a strategy, healing is a better one. Especially in the long term.
Chipping away at the fabric of life, trauma at any age has debilitating long-term effects, especially on children's developing brains. Being exposed to trauma in childhood is common across all sectors of society and is sometimes referred to as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).The signs and symptoms of PTSD often only emerge many years later.
An Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine in May 1998 found that these behaviours were more likely to be present in people who experienced childhood trauma:
Increased Likelihood | |
Smoke | 2 x |
Have Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) | 2 ½ x |
Develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | 4 x |
Consider themselves an alcoholic | 7 x |
Inject street drugs | 10 x |
Attempt suicide | 12 x |
As trauma turns inward, the pain that the child carries to adulthood- unless it's been processed through the right guidance, support, and treatment, festers. Behaviours listed indicate a tendency to self-destruct.
It's not that different when trauma arises in adulthood, and some feel an added responsibility to have the strength to handle the situation, while it quietly metastasizes like cancer, creating immense stress and difficulty in coping with day-to-day activities or relationships.
This may be a good time to ask yourself some pertinent questions:
Am I doing this because I’m a terrible person, or because of what happened to me?
Could it be time to heal the past so I can move towards a better future?
What can I do, and where can I get help?
Signs And Symptoms Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Presenting themselves mostly within three months of a traumatic event, the symptoms of PTSD can emerge at at time, sometimes completely out of the blue, other times, when triggered by something that happens. The National Mental Health Institute indicates that symptoms of PTSD must be present for more than a month and be severe enough to interfere with work, relationships, and other parts of daily life for a formal diagnosis, but should not be related to medication, substance use, or other illnesses, although co-occurring conditions that do present themselves with PTSD do include depression, substance use, or one or more anxiety disorders.
People's reactions to a traumatic event, or even sustained trauma, differ. Some feel detached from the experience, feeling like an outsider to the event looking in. This is a natural reaction and PTSD symptoms can vary in intensity over time. When you're stressed in general, or when you come across things that remind you of what you went through you can be triggered into a negative headspace by feeling overcome by memories of your own similar event. but when the following symptoms are still there after a month or more, PTSD may be the culprit. These are signs and symptoms of PTSD:
One or more Re-experiencing symptom/s (Intrusive memories):
Recurring, unwanted, disturbing distressing memories of the distressing event.
Flashbacks: Reliving the event as if it were happening in real life.
Words, objects, and situations are reminders of the event.
Distressing dreams or nightmares about the event.
Physical reactions or severe emotional distress when exposed to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.
One or more Avoidance symptom/s:
Putting the event out of sight and out of mind by trying to stop thinking or talking about it.
Avoiding people, places, and/or activities that are a reminder of the traumatic event.
Two or more Arousal and Reactivity symptoms (Changes in physical and emotional reactions):
Being frightened or getting startled easily.
Self-destructive behavior, including driving too fast and drinking too much.
Having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
Lack of focus because of trouble concentrating.
Always on guard as though danger is present at all times.
Irritability, aggressive behavior, and/or angry outbursts.
Overwhelming feeling of guilt or shame.
Children who are under 6 may re-enact the traumatic event or parts of it while playing, or experience nightmares that may or may not include parts of the traumatic event.
Two or more Cognition and mood symptoms (Negative changes in mood and thinking):
Negative thoughts about yourself, others, or the world in general.
Feelings of social isolation including feeling detached from friends and family members.
Memory issues, including forgetting important aspects of the event
Hopelessness about the future
Difficulty maintaining close relationships
Lack of interest in activities previously enjoyed
Unable to experience positive emotions
Feeling emotionally numb
According to the American Psychiatric Association, people with PTSD may also experience physical symptoms, including fatigue, increased blood pressure and heart rate, nausea, muscle tension, headaches, backaches, joint pain, or other types of pain. For those with chronic pain, the pain itself could be a reminder of the traumatic event, intensifying PTSD symptoms, even though the person in pain may not realize the connection between the event and the pain. Chronic pain paired with PTSD often leads to depression and alcohol and prescription medication abuse or misuse and has been shown to increase the risk of having several health issues, decreasing life expectancy.
The essential element in a formal diagnosis of PTSD requires exposure to a distressing traumatic event. This means experiencing an event directly, witnessing a traumatic event happening to someone else, or hearing about a traumatic event that happened to someone close. It can arise after a prolonged traumatic experience and also includes PTSD arising from repeated exposure to awful details of trauma such as law enforcement officers exposed to grisly details and child abuse cases.
The effects arise from a single traumatic event, whereas in Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) the trauma is long-term, repeated trauma.
Why Do Some People Get PTSD After A Traumatic Event And Others Don’t?
While research shows most people recover and don't develop PTSD after exposure to a major traumatic event, some find themselves feeling worse as time goes on. There are a few factors before and after a traumatic event that seem to increase the likelihood of PTSD, such as :
When the traumatic event is violent, more severe, and/or occurs over a longer period of time or involves harm to oneself or the loss of a loved one.
Being around reminders of the traumatic event.
Generally, women are more likely than men to develop PTSD.
Older people are more likely than younger people to develop PTSD.
People who experience adversity in childhood, especially exposure to traumatic incidents, are more susceptible.
People with chronic medical or psychiatric illnesses are more vulnerable to PTSD.
People react differently to trauma. Sadness, irritability, and confusion are often experienced in the immediate aftermath of a major traumatic event, and mostly, people report feeling stressed, having difficulty sleeping, concentrating, or interacting with others. If these symptoms worsen, affecting social and work functioning, and persist longer than a month, PTSD is something to consider, especially if you or a loved one are struggling to cope with the effects, and it helps to reach out to others and to seek professional help.
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