We often will feel sad and cry after a highly traumatic event. The crying can be a way for the nervous system to come down from the fight-or-flight response, since crying is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system which calms the mind and body.
Initial reactions to trauma can include exhaustion, confusion, sadness, anxiety, agitation, numbness, dissociation, confusion, physical arousal, and blunted affect. Most responses are normal in that they affect most survivors and are socially acceptable, psychologically effective, and self-limited.
Sadness or depression: The loss of a loved one or a way of life are examples of things that might heighten this emotion. Symptoms include crying spells, losing interest in things you previously enjoyed, a desire to be constantly alone and feelings of being tired or empty.
Trauma is defined as “a psychological, emotional response to an event or an experience that is deeply distressing or disturbing.” In reality, trauma can come from any experience that makes us feel unsafe, physically or emotionally, and that disrupts the way we cope or function.
Intrusive memories
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event. Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks) Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event. Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.
Fight Response
This response may feel like an adrenaline rush, accompanied with a desire to defend oneself through fighting, yelling at, or controlling others. The thought behind this response is “I need to eliminate the threat before it eliminates me.” Behaviors that might indicate this trauma response are: Crying.
Ultimately, any event or ongoing situation that causes distress, fear, and a sense of helplessness qualifies as trauma. And trauma can have serious mental, physical, and emotional impacts on young people, negatively influencing daily functioning and relationships.
Physical injuries are among the most prevalent individual traumas. Millions of emergency room (ER) visits each year relate directly to physical injuries.
Crying is a common reaction to anger, since anger is often triggered by situations that hurt you. Crying can provide emotional release and help you understand your feelings better.
Crying easily can be a symptom of depression, anxiety, or a lot of stress in your life. Since HSPs feel so deeply and can experience sensory overload, we're more susceptible to strong feelings of depression or anxiety. We might feel alone in our sensitivity or isolate ourselves to reduce excess stimuli.
Crying more than is normal for you may be a symptom of depression or a neurological disorder. If you're concerned about the amount you're crying, talk to your doctor.
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)
For most people, talking to yourself is a normal behavior that is not a symptom of a mental health condition. Self-talk may have some benefits, especially in improving performance in visual search tasks. It can also aid understanding in longer tasks requiring following instructions.
Ages 5 through 8 identified as crucial period in brain development and exposure to stress.
Trauma dumping refers to sharing a traumatic story without thinking about how it will affect the listener, or oversharing in an inappropriate context.
Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain events, often associated with stress or trauma, leaving the person unable to remember important personal information. Appointments 866.588.2264.
Unhealed trauma can hit you in ways you don't expect. Struggle with persistent depression or anxiety that you can't seem to get rid of no matter what you do? This feeling of hopelessness often fuels addictive behavior. Have unhealthy relationship patterns where you stay in toxic and even abusive relationships?
The keywords in SAMHSA's concept are The Three E's of Trauma: Event(s), Experience, and Effect. When a person is exposed to a traumatic or stressful event, how they experience it greatly influences the long-lasting adverse effects of carrying the weight of trauma.
Today's psychological thought largely concurs, emphasizing the role of crying as a mechanism that allows us to release stress and emotional pain. Crying is an important safety valve, largely because keeping difficult feelings inside — what psychologists call repressive coping — can be bad for our health.
Hasson says that in a setting in which someone is threatened, a crying person unconsciously increases survival prospects, because an attacker understands that someone who is crying is defenseless and there is no reason to continue to attack.
What causes tears when we're angry? The most immediate reason for angry tears is probably that you feel hurt, embarrassed, betrayed, or unjustly treated. When people experience injustice, rejection, or humiliation, the natural response includes both anger and sadness — often simultaneously.