People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people.
Relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, massage, or yoga can activate the body's relaxation response and ease symptoms of PTSD. Avoid alcohol and drugs. When you're struggling with difficult emotions and traumatic memories, you may be tempted to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs.
vivid flashbacks (feeling like the trauma is happening right now) intrusive thoughts or images. nightmares. intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma.
Emotional Trauma Symptoms
Psychological Concerns: Anxiety and panic attacks, fear, anger, irritability, obsessions and compulsions, shock and disbelief, emotional numbing and detachment, depression, shame and guilt (especially if the person dealing with the trauma survived while others didn't)
People can have PTSD even though they do not recall the experience that triggered the problem. As a result, such people may live with PTSD for years without realizing it.
Physical Health: PTSD can Change the Way you Eat, Sleep, and React. In addition to psychological symptoms of re-experiencing and avoidance, many people with PTSD also manifest with physical effects from trauma. These physical symptoms may make it more difficult to sleep, concentrate, or even eat or drink normally.
PTSD can be worsened due to the kind of trigger involved. A trigger reminds you of what happened, activating memories, emotions, and physical responses, leading to a severe reaction.
If you find that your loved one is pushing you away when you try to communicate with them or show support, it may be because those experiencing PTSD often: Find it difficult to regulate emotions. Distance/isolate themselves from others. Experience intimacy challenges.
One of the hallmarks of PTSD, and especially CPTSD, is having trouble controlling your emotions, which is known as emotional dysregulation.
Women with PTSD may be more likely than men with PTSD to: Be easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions or feel numb. Avoid things that remind them of the trauma.
If you are struggling with PTSD, it's possible that you can feel easily overwhelmed, fearful, and anxious. It is understandable that you would do whatever you can to avoid people, places, and things that could remind you of your traumatic experience.
Avoiding activities, people, places, thoughts or feelings associated with the trauma. Feeling paranoid or hyper-vigilant. Feeling irritable or showing outbursts of anger. Feeling depressed, hopeless, alone or guilty.
The symptoms of PTSD can cause problems with trust, closeness, communication, and problem solving. These problems may affect the way the survivor acts with others. In turn, the way a loved one responds to him or her affects the trauma survivor. A circular pattern can develop that may sometimes harm relationships.
PTSD symptoms usually appear soon after trauma. For most people, these symptoms go away on their own within the first few weeks and months after the trauma. For some, the symptoms can last for many years, especially if they go untreated. PTSD symptoms can stay at a fairly constant level of severity.
Talking about the trauma can be important
Allow the person to talk about what happened, even if they become upset. Just be calm yourself and listen carefully – getting upset too doesn't help. Don't insist on talking if the person doesn't want to. They may need time to be alone with their thoughts.
Some unpleasant experiences produce permanent changes in the brain and corresponding shifts in intelligence, emotional reactivity, happiness, sociability, and other traits that used to be thought of as set for life.
People with PTSD may also experience physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, fatigue, muscle tension, nausea, joint pain, headaches, back pain or other types of pain. The person in pain may not realize the connection between their pain and a traumatic event.
Symptoms. PTSD symptoms get grouped into four types; avoidance, intrusive memories, adverse changes in mood and thinking, and negative changes in physical and emotional responses. Symptoms include: Flashbacks about the event (can feel like reliving the experience all over again)