Physical and sexual abuse, a disaster or an accident can cause psychological trauma to a person. This condition is not a bad mood due to unpleasant memories, but a very real diagnosis. We will tell you what symptoms psychological trauma has and how you can help a loved one if he has received it.
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The concept of psychological trauma, or post-traumatic stress disorder, comes from military psychiatry. This condition occurs in 30% of people who have experienced some kind of painful experience.
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Symptoms of PTSD—nightmares, emotional withdrawal, angry outbursts, avoiding things and conversations that remind you of the unpleasant experience—can appear even years after the traumatic event.
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If PTSD symptoms persist for more than a month or there are thoughts of suicide, you should seek help from a specialist – a psychologist or psychiatrist
What is psychological trauma and why can it develop?
In medicine, this condition is called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It occurs in a person who has experienced a difficult event or has witnessed it. As a rule, the event is associated with a threat to life and safety, and the person experienced fear, horror or helplessness in it.
For example, PTSD can be caused by domestic violence, physical assault, rape, accidents, death of a loved one, war, or captivity. The disorder can also be triggered by natural disasters, fires, traffic accidents, terrorist attacks, and other extreme or life-threatening events.
The condition came from military psychiatry, because such a syndrome was first discovered in combat participants. PTSD was singled out as a separate diagnosis in 1980.
This disease has two subtypes :
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chronic PTSD – symptoms persist for more than three months;
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delayed-onset PTSD – symptoms first appear no earlier than six months after the traumatic event.
PTSD should not be confused with acute stress disorder. Acute stress disorder occurs immediately after the incident, and its symptoms last no more than four weeks.
According to statistics, post-traumatic stress disorder affects approximately 30% of people who have experienced a traumatic experience. It is still unclear why some people develop this condition and others do not. There are factors that increase the likelihood of developing the disorder. For example, being in a war zone, working in emergency services, depression, one or more other traumas in the past, relatives with mental illness, lack of family support.
According to the American Psychological Association, women are twice as likely to develop PTSD as men. This may be because women are exposed to more interpersonal trauma, often at a younger age.
How PTSD manifests itself
When a person experiences too much stress in a dangerous situation, the nervous system gets stuck in it and cannot return to a state of equilibrium. As a result, people with PTSD carry the fear and horror they experienced inside themselves. PTSD symptoms can develop within a month after a bad event, and sometimes after several years.
Experts distinguish four types of symptoms:
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Intrusive memories. Scary dreams, flashbacks, reminding of a traumatic event.
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Avoidance: Reluctance to engage in conversations or visit places associated with terrible events.
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Negative changes in thinking and mood. Emotional numbness, detachment from people, negative thoughts about yourself and the world.
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Changes in physical and emotional reactions. Alcoholism, angry outbursts, poor sleep, hypervigilance.
PTSD symptoms can change in intensity over time, such as decreasing in acute trauma and increasing in chronic and complicated trauma.
The effects of psychological trauma can be reflected in a person’s behavior: people with PTSD may find it difficult to relax, they look for a catch in everything. Constant hyperarousal causes irritability, outbursts of rage, insomnia, panic attacks, difficulty concentrating. Sometimes they withdraw from the world and try to avoid society.
Trauma often leads to addictions, such as alcoholism or bulimia. Children with this diagnosis may be aggressive, engage in risky or sexualized behavior.
The most severe manifestation of psychological trauma is severe depression with feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. A person sees everything in a negative light, constantly has problems at work and in his personal life, sometimes he does not even have the strength to take care of his appearance.
In addition to mental problems, people with PTSD may experience physical symptoms: increased heart rate, nausea, muscle tension. These occur, for example, when something reminds them of the traumatic event.
What is hidden psychological trauma
There is no concept of hidden psychological trauma in medicine. Chronic trauma and complex (or comprehensive) PTSD , when a person has some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, which are supplemented by problems with managing emotions and relationships, fit this everyday definition .
Hidden trauma can be spoken of when a person whose life is not going well does not understand why this is happening. In such cases, trauma can be caused by events from childhood, but the person does not connect the past with problems in the present. Causes of childhood trauma can be sexual or physical abuse, child abuse, constant swearing and humiliation, bullying, separation from parents, their neglect of the child, illness or difficult financial situation.
Some children overcome the mental health effects of abuse as they grow older without any visible consequences. However, for others, abuse can lead to physical, behavioral, emotional, or mental health problems even years later. These delayed effects can include PTSD.
How to understand that a loved one has hidden psychological trauma
In addition to the manifestations of PTSD, the following problems may indirectly indicate hidden trauma :
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unsuccessful personal life;
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conflicts at work;
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money problems;
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frequent bad mood;
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lack of interest in life;
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inability to enjoy and openly express one’s feelings;
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addiction tendency;
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eating disorders.
When communicating with a person who may be experiencing the influence of hidden trauma, it is important to be attentive and sensitive, to support, and not to devalue their problems. Be prepared to listen to them without trying to “fix” the situation. It is almost impossible to cope with hidden trauma on your own, so it is worth offering the person to start psychotherapy.
How to treat an injury
If the symptoms described above do not go away for more than a month and especially if suicidal thoughts have appeared, you should contact a psychologist or psychiatrist as soon as possible. Psychotherapy can help cope with trauma. Effective methods include , for example, the EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) method and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
EMDR therapy is based on the idea that bad memories get stuck in the brain, causing trauma. And if the unpleasant images in memory are processed, they will “let go” of the person. This can be achieved by stimulating bilateral brain activity. It is carried out using various methods: eye movements from side to side, alternating sounds or tapping. This psychotherapy is good because you don’t have to go to appointments for years: the effect is achieved in just 6-12 sessions.
A cognitive behavioral therapist works with a patient according to a specific protocol. Usually, 5 to 20 sessions are needed . Within this modality, a person with trauma may be offered cognitive and exposure therapy.
Cognitive therapy is talk therapy. The therapist helps the patient recognize the way of thinking and beliefs that keep him stuck, such as negative beliefs about himself and the world, the risk of repeating traumatic events.
Exposure therapy helps to safely confront situations and memories that seem frightening and teaches how to cope with them effectively. The therapist asks the patient to gently immerse himself in the traumatic event in a safe environment. This is an unpleasant procedure, but it is effective, especially for flashbacks and nightmares.
As a supportive measure, a psychiatrist may also prescribe antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications to the patient.