Sanctuary for the Abused

Saturday, August 04, 2018

Trauma & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

What is trauma?
Trauma involves exposure to a catastrophic event usually of a life threatening or seriously physically threatening nature. Traumatic events include experiences such as having witnessed violence, having been a victim of crime or violence, having lived through a natural disaster, having been a combatant or civilian in a war zone, having witnessed or having been a victim of a severe accident.

Most mental health professionals have expanded the definition of trauma to include betrayal trauma. Betrayal trauma occurs when the people or institutions we depend on for survival violate us in some way. An example of betrayal trust is childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Please see our page on Surviving Childhood Abuse for information regarding this topic.

People who have encountered traumatic events experience their distress at different times after the event. Some people may have immediate reactions, whereas others may not have reactions for quite some time. There is no one standard response or pattern of responses to a crisis.

Some common reactions that people have after a traumatic event:
* Feelings may become intense and sometimes unpredictable; you may be more anxious, fearful, hopeless, or irritable than usual.

* You may have repeated thoughts and vivid memories of the event.

* You may feel confused, have memory impairment, or have difficulty making decisions.

* Your interpersonal relationships may become strained. For example, you may have increased conflict or you may be more withdrawn and avoid your usual activities.

* You may have more physical symptoms than usual, e.g., fatigue, nausea, sweating (chills); any pre-existing conditions may become worse; sleep might be disturbed.

* You may have recurrent emotional reactions on the anniversary of the event.

What you can do to manage your symptoms:
* Give yourself time to heal.

* Ask for support from people who care about you.

* Find out about local support groups (we can help).

* Try to have a healthy diet and get plenty of rest. Avoid drugs and alcohol.

* Try to re-establish your regular routines - e.g., regular mealtimes, exercise,
hobbies, fun activities.

* Try to avoid making major decisions at this time - this just adds more stress.

What if it has been a while since the traumatic event and Im not getting better?

What if my symptoms are more intense than what was just described?

You may be experiencing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. People with PTSD may have few or many of the following symptoms:

* You may have constant and intrusive thoughts, feelings, images about the event. No matter how hard you try, you cant make it stop.

* You may have flashbacks or nightmares where you feel you are reliving the event. Flashbacks involve a person losing grip on reality and perceiving him or herself to be in the traumatic situation. An example of this would be a crime victim acting as if he or she is fighting off attackers.

* You may become extremely distressed when something reminds you of the event. A sight, sound or smell can activate memories. For example, getting into a car can be extremely distressing for the victim of a car wreck.

* You may feel extremely on-guard or in danger. You may startle very easily and may be jumpy.

* You may avoid thoughts, feelings or conversation about the traumatic event.

* You may avoid people, places, and/or activities that remind you of the event. For example, crime victims may want to avoid the place where they were attacked.

* You may not feel like participating in your usual activities.

* You may not feel connected to people. You may avoid socializing. It may be difficult to trust people.

* You may feel numb, and may not feel emotions like you used to.

People with PTSD may often experience other psychological difficulties along with the PTSD. These other psychological problems may include depression, anxiety disorders, panic disorder, eating disorders and alcohol/substance abuse.

Seeking treatment for PTSD
Seeking treatment can feel terrifying even though the symptoms that you are experiencing are extremely stressful. To seek treatment means you are facing the prospect of discussing the painful event and all the emotions surrounding it. You may be concerned that discussing the trauma will stir up disturbing feelings and that you may anticipate those feelings to be overwhelming. We realize that discussing trauma can be difficult and we will let you control the pace of revealing the details of your trauma. We will do our utmost to create an environment of sensitivity, safety and trust where you can talk about what has happened to you.

Treating PTSD

Heal My PTSD

Labels: emotional abuse, flashbacks, ptsd, stress, symptoms, trauma