Trauma and the Development of PTSD
“Our life becomes structure – our experiences, our psychological experiences become structure. From this moment on when experience becomes structure, it will influence your thinking, behavior and emotional system.”
Damir del Monte
Damir’s words reflect on how our whole systems, our biology, psychology, and sociology all interact together to create the internal and external structures of lived experience. Within this lived experience, exposure to trauma can greatly impact the internal and external structure.
Trauma is defined in the DSM-V as exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence through either directly experiencing the events, witnessing the events, learning that the events occurred to a close family member or friend, or repeated or extreme exposure to traumatic events.
In simpler terms, trauma is an emotional, physiological response to an event or series of events that lasts long after the event and causes significant mental and physical stress. A person may experience trauma to anything that their body experiences as physically or emotionally threatening or harmful.
Types of Trauma
Acute Trauma
Acute trauma is in response to a single event, such as a car accident, an assault, a natural disaster, etc.
Chronic Trauma
Chronic trauma is in response to prolonged events, such as war, homelessness, chronic illness, etc. Childhood experiences, such as abuse or neglect, prolonged exposure to domestic violence, are forms of complex trauma.
Complex Trauma
Complex trauma results from exposure to multiple traumatic events. Individuals who experience chronic trauma have a high likelihood of experiencing complex trauma.
Secondary Trauma
Secondary trauma, or vicarious exposure, is when a person develops trauma symptoms from close contact with someone who has experienced a traumatic event. Those in the helping field, such as doctors, fire fighters, police officers, therapists, etc., are at higher risk for developing secondary trauma.
Most people will experience a traumatic event at some point in their life. Some may experiences shock and distress and most will recover within a short period of time. The way our body responds to traumatic events, and our ability to work through those events, is dependent on many factors, including our experience of stability and safety in childhood.
PTSD
When traumatic symptoms persist or get worse, it can lead to the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is highly distressing and disrupts a person’s every day life. Symptoms of PTSD include:
Distressing memories
Distressing dreams
Flashbacks to events
Increased distress or reactivity to internal or external cues that represent a part of the traumatic event
Avoidance of memories, thoughts, feelings or people, places, objects, situations
Change in mood or belief about oneself, others and the world
Feeling detached from self or others
Inability to experience positive emotions
Increased irritability or angry outburst
Increased reckless or destructive behaviors
Hypervigilance
Problems with concentration
Difficulties with sleep
Your history of previous traumas, having little support after the trauma, dealing with multiple stressors after trauma, a history of anxiety or depression or physical pain or injury after the trauma can increase your likelihood of developing PTSD. That being said, most people who experience a trauma do not develop PTSD. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that the lifetime prevalence of PTSD in the United States is 6.8%
Treatment
If you are experiencing PTSD symptoms, there are several treatments and plans to consider to help
Therapy
Therapy is the first line treatment for trauma. It is recommended to work with a clinician who specializes in trauma. Some helpful types of therapy are Brainspotting, EMDR, and Somatic focused therapy. Your experience of your therapist is MOST important.
Body Connection
One of the buzz words currently is mindfulness. Mindfulness is great and important, and it can also be highly activating and distressing to someone who has experienced trauma. Many people with PTSD have experienced their bodies as not safe, with some having their bodies as the source of threat/trauma. Sometimes the act of noticing their body will bring back memories of the trauma. Working with a therapist to slowly reconnect with body sensations is important. It is gradually learning over a period of time how to be present with their body, how to effectively respond to their body’s cues.
A balanced lifestyle cannot be overemphasized. Improving sleep, a healthy diet, engaging in some form of movement, participating in enjoyable activities and reducing consumption of drugs and alcohol brings greater inner balance to the body’s system as a whole. Connection with others is equally important. Connection is to see and be seen, and reduces the sense of isolation and aloneness. Sometimes, that can be scary or feel too vulnerable to those who have experienced trauma. Rather than going to extremes of pure avoidance or oversharing, it is helpful to learn how to gradually lean into authentic connection and vulnerability. The therapeutic relationship is invaluable to learning connection.
If you have experienced trauma and are struggling, I highly encourage you to meet with a trauma therapist as soon as possible. Trauma symptoms are your body’s way of asking for help, of letting you know there is unresolved work to be done. I hope you listen and respond.