PTSD: It’s More Common Than You Think

“Unlike simple stress, trauma changes your view of your life and yourself. It shatters your most basic assumptions about yourself and your world – “Life is good,” “I’m safe,” “People are kind,” “I can trust others,” “The future is likely to be good” – and replaces them with feelings like “The world is dangerous,” “I can’t win,” “I can’t trust other people,” or “There’s no hope.” – Mark Goulston MD

Nobody sets out to find themselves in a traumatic situation. While, yes, some folks engage in risky behavior- nobody intends to go through trauma. We live in a broken and hurting world. This world leads to hurt, pain, and trauma far too often.

Unfortunately, none of us get through our lives without trauma. Every one of us will experience some sort of traumatic event in our lives. Many of us will experience multiple traumatic events. Some folks seem to experience trauma after trauma after trauma.

Trauma never makes sense. It never follows a set of rules or a pattern of healing. Two people could experience the same event and have entirely different reactions and long-term outcomes.

In recent years more attention about trauma and trauma recovery has been brought to the forefront. We’re learning more about the way the brain responds in the face of trauma and why different people respond in different ways.

Researchers are also working to better understand Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD) and other trauma-related disorders. This is informing all kinds of new treatment approaches and ways to help provide healing.

This article will explore trauma recovery. We’ll look at different types of trauma-related disorders- with PTSD being the most common, differentiate between stress/anxiety/depression following a traumatic event vs a disorder, and discuss common treatment approaches. It is our hope this information will shed more light on what happens within our brains and our bodies following trauma.

Trauma Definition

(and an important note about individual trauma)

The dictionary defines trauma as “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience.” While this definition gives us some information, it still feels open-ended. What is considered deeply distressing or disturbing for one person may not necessarily be so for another person.

This is true of many life experiences and emotions. We may experience something right alongside another person and feel like they had a much more, or less, intense emotional reaction than we did.

Every person is wired differently and has different thoughts, opinions, levels of tolerance, education, and life experience. It’s impossible to define trauma by saying exactly what is classified as traumatic. Each person will know within themselves if something was deeply distressing or disturbing.

This is important to bear in mind with a definition of trauma. Just because you don’t find something to be deeply distressing or disturbing, doesn’t mean others won’t. Far too often people are written off because others don’t feel their trauma was “valid” or “traumatic enough.”

For the purposes of our discussion here, we aren’t going to name specific types of traumatic events. We’ll stick to the above definition of trauma and remember everyone processes their life experiences differently.

It is not our intention to trigger anyone’s trauma by naming traumatic events, instances, or occurrences. Your experiences are your experiences. Your trauma is your trauma. Don’t let others dismiss what’s going on in your heart and mind following a difficult experience.

Common Emotions Following Trauma

Traumatic events can cause what sometimes feels like a cascade of emotions. Many folks report rapidly changing emotions after trauma and even report feelings they aren’t sure how to identify. These may be short-lived or may persist for a while. If you have concerns about your feelings or the feelings of someone you love, reach out to a counselor for support.
Common reactions and emotions after trauma include:
Remember, not everyone will experience all of these. These may appear within minutes, days, weeks, months, or even years following the traumatic event(s).

• Adrenaline rush, especially in the moments following the trauma
• Exhaustion – This can occur at any time and often occurs within hours of the trauma after the adrenaline wears off
• Fight or Flight – Survivors often report feeling stuck in fight or flight following a traumatic event. They also often report being startled and jumpier.
• Fear
• Anxiety
• Sadness
• Grief
• Depression – Depression is different from sadness in that depression persists for longer periods and often interferes with daily life
• Anger
• Stress – Trauma victims often report feeling stressed more often than usual or unable to handle the same degree of stress they previously could handle
• Numbness – This may also include numbing behaviors such as substance abuse, over-watching TV or over-using the internet, sex or pornography over-use, overeating, or denying emotions
• Loss of interest in daily life or previous hobbies
• Guilt
• Negative self-talk
• Perseverating thoughts – These may include replaying the event(s) in the mind, focusing on ways the event(s) may have been avoided or changed, or other thoughts that are difficult to get rid of
• Ignoring behaviors – Some individuals may act as though nothing ever happened and/or ignore anything related to the trauma
• Nightmares
• Insomnia and/or sleeping too much
• Trust issues
• Suicidal thoughts or actions – Please make sure to call 911 and get emergency help right away

The above emotions are reactions typical of trauma survivors. When these become pervasive or interfere with daily life is when we need to start looking into a possible trauma-related disorder.

PTSD and other Trauma-related Disorders

There are a few different trauma-related disorders that may appear in individuals. Sometimes these can take months, or even years, to appear. Folks who have gone through multiple traumatic events seem to be at a greater risk for developing these disorders.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most common and most well-known. PTSD occurs after a terrifying or stressful event. It involves psychological distress resulting from an event that lasts for at least one month.

Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) often develops prior to PTSD. It’s classified by significant psychological distress within the month following the traumatic event. If identified soon enough, ASD can be treated before a trauma victim develops PTSD.

Adjustment Disorder occurs when an individual is having difficulty adjusting after a stressful or traumatic event or following a change in life circumstances. These occur within 3-6 months of the event.

Other disorders such as Anxiety Disorders, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Reactive Attachment Disorder may also develop following trauma. However, these are not always trauma-related disorders. Clinical depression, clinical anxiety, mood, and behavioral disorders, and personality disorders may also appear following trauma but can also develop at other times.

Treatment and Support for PTSD

The first thing to do following a traumatic event is to seek medical care. Of course, not all traumatic events necessitate medical care, but many do. The medical care team can also help do emotional and psychological evaluations and suggest other treatments.

For many folks, the next step is counseling. Statistics show that counseling as soon as possible after the trauma is often the most helpful. However, counseling for trauma that’s even decades-old has significant results. This may look like 1:1 counseling, family counseling, group therapy, or couples counseling.

During counseling, you may explore other practices and processing techniques. These may occur with your counselor, in a group setting, or as something your counselor suggests working on at home. This may include:

• Journaling
• Prayer
• Meditation
• Relaxation techniques
• Stress-management
• Breathing exercises
• Yoga (there are even trauma-centered yoga classes and teachers available now)
• Therapeutic letters
• Bodywork
• Art and/or music therapy
• Time in nature
• Courses and books

The most important thing to remember is that your story and your experiences are yours alone. God sees your every tear and knows your every hurt. God hasn’t abandoned you in your trauma and won’t leave you to walk the road of recovery alone.