³ PTSD can lead to physiological changes in the body and its response to the surrounding environment. For instance, you may feel hypervigilant and startle easily. You can start to shake in response to being startled, feeling threatened, or encountering a situation that triggers memories of past trauma.
Neurogenic Tremors and Trauma
When we are threatened the body releases huge amounts of stress hormones to help us overcome the danger. That is the flight-fight response kicking in and we literally shake with fear. This shaking is known as neurogenic tremors.
Tremor may occur as a consequence of trauma to the cen- tral or peripheral nervous systems. While brain and nerve injuries are relatively common, post-traumatic tremor has been reported infrequently.
Difficult experiences, including trauma, can build up energy in the nervous system. There's some evidence to suggest that shaking can help release it. This is also known as therapeutic or neurogenic tremoring. It's a technique used in tension and trauma therapeutic release exercises, or TRE, which was created by Dr.
Psychogenic tremors, also known as functional tremors, can be caused by underlying psychological conditions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both of which can occur after brain injury.
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.
Symptoms of PTSD
Memories of the event arise as nightmares during sleep or as flashbacks in the daytime. Often, the severe emotional distress triggers a physical response that may result in chills, headaches, shaking, or a sudden panic attack.
Shaking is a natural physiological response to stress. Through evolution, it developed to help people recognize dangerous situations so that they could escape or defend themselves. This is why when you face stressful situations in modern life, you get nervous due to this built-in evolutionary response.
Right after a trauma, almost every survivor will find it hard to stop thinking about what happened. Stress reactions—such as fear, anxiety, jumpiness, upsetting memories, and efforts to avoid reminders—will gradually decrease over time for most people.
Your body prepares to deal with the stressor, interpreting the anxiousness as a signal that you'll need to stand your ground or escape from danger. Your muscles become primed to act, leading to a trembling sensation, twitching, or shaking.
Adrenaline works directly on receptor cells in muscles to speed up the contraction rate of the fibres, ready for fighting or fleeing. High levels of adrenaline can therefore lead to muscles twitching uncontrollably, making us shake.
Trauma loops, also known as limbic trauma loops, are defined as the body's response to traumatic situations through stress responses that are generally more exaggerated due to the extent of the previous event.
Strong emotions can cause a person to shake or shiver. This is often due to a surge of adrenaline in the body. Adrenaline is a hormone that triggers the body's fight-or-flight response. Shivering should stop after the adrenaline leaves the body.
Shaking is one of the most common symptoms of anxiety. Shaking is normal and occurs when adrenaline courses through your body. Shaking may also occur for no apparent reason at all, depending on the anxiety disorder. Movement can reduce shaking since it uses up the adrenaline.
Ever since people's responses to overwhelming experiences have been systematically explored, researchers have noted that a trauma is stored in somatic memory and expressed as changes in the biological stress response.
Anytime that you feel threatened or vulnerable, your sympathetic nervous system fires up and signals your adrenal glands to release adrenaline into your body. Your heart may start to beat hard and fast, your breath quickens, and you may start to sweat or shake.
When you're feeling anxious, your muscles may become tenser, since anxiety primes your body to react to an environmental “danger.” Your muscles may also twitch, shake, or tremble. Tremors that are caused by anxiety are known as psychogenic tremors.
General adaptation syndrome is how your body responds to stress. There are three stages to stress: the alarm stage, the resistance stage and the exhaustion stage. The alarm stage is when the central nervous system is awakened, causing your body's defenses to assemble.
They may be impulsive, acting before they think. Aggressive behaviors also include complaining, "backstabbing," being late or doing a poor job on purpose, self-blame, or even self-injury. Many people with PTSD only use aggressive responses to threat. They are not able to use other responses that could be more positive.
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.
During a flashback, you may: See complete or partial images of the traumatic incident. Hear sounds or words associated with the event. Experience physical sensations, such as pain or like you're being touched.
Adults may display sleep problems, increased agitation, hypervigilance, isolation or withdrawal, and increased use of alcohol or drugs. Older adults may exhibit increased withdrawal and isolation, reluctance to leave home, worsening of chronic illnesses, confusion, depression, and fear (DeWolfe & Nordboe, 2000b).
Feeling jittery, nervous or tense.
Women experiencing PTSD are more likely to exhibit the following symptoms: Become easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions, experience numbness. Avoid trauma reminders.