Studies suggest that trauma could make you more vulnerable to developing physical health problems, including long-term or chronic illnesses. This might be because trauma can affect your body as well as your
Some may respond emotionally and physically to a traumatic event right away, while others may be numbed to its effect until many years later.
Research has shown that traumatic experiences are associated with both behavioral health and chronic physical health conditions, especially those traumatic events that occur during childhood. Substance use, mental health conditions, and other risky behaviors have been linked with traumatic experiences.
How trauma affects the brain, the hippocampus may be physically affected; studies have shown that in people suffering from PTSD, the volume of their hippocampus may be smaller than others. Mainly how trauma affects the brain, the hippocampus will affect the ability to recall some memories for trauma survivors.
Many may often ask themselves, “Will I feel this way forever?” The answer to this is both simple and complex. The effects of trauma that evolve into ost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will never entirely go away. However, they can be managed with proper treatment to make them less severe to live a normal life.
Behavioral Signs of Unhealed Trauma
Trauma can also lead to behavioral idiosyncrasies. For instance, you may avoid places or activities that make you think about the event. You may withdraw from your friendships and become uninterested in the activities that you enjoyed in the past.
Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better.
Trauma is not physically held in the muscles or bones — instead, the need to protect oneself from perceived threats is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala. This activates the body whenever a situation reminds the person of the traumatic event(s).
Exposure to trauma can be life-changing – and researchers are learning more about how traumatic events may physically change our brains. But these changes are not happening because of physical injury, rather our brain appears to rewire itself after these experiences.
Regardless of the extent of the trauma, untreated trauma will manifest in physical, psychological, emotional, and social problems. Many individuals will find that alcohol and drugsrelieve the symptoms experienced, however, over time this could develop into more serious and detrimental issues.
Chronic trauma is prolonged or repeated traumatic incidents, such as combat or domestic abuse. Complex trauma is a combination of both acute and chronic trauma, often occurring in childhood, that disrupts many aspects of development and one's sense of self.
The effect of physical trauma affects many domains of personality, such as affective dysregulation, identity diffusion, disturbed relationships, and self-harm.
“The length of time a person can experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) varies,” says Dr Kriegeskotten. “When PTSD is not treated, it can last a very long time, perhaps a lifetime. For others, the PTSD symptoms can fade over time, but increase again on an anniversary or at a triggering time in their life.”
Surviving abuse or trauma as a child has been linked with higher rates of anxiety, depression, suicide and self harm, PTSD, drug and alcohol misuse and relationship difficulties.
Impact of Trauma
Learning problems, including lower grades and more suspensions and expulsions. Increased use of health and mental health services. Increase involvement with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Long-term health problems (e.g., diabetes and heart disease)
Complex trauma describes both children's exposure to multiple traumatic events—often of an invasive, interpersonal nature—and the wide-ranging, long-term effects of this exposure. These events are severe and pervasive, such as abuse or profound neglect.
If you experienced abuse or neglect as a child, your brain might have become wired for fear, anxiety, and stress. And disorders such as anxiety, depression, or addiction can surface later in life.
Compared to the healthy brain, left, the brain in cerebral atrophy following traumatic brain injury experiences a widening of the cortical sulci, a gradual enlargement of the ventricles, a pronounced cortical thinning, and a shrinking of the hippocampus, right.
Crying is not a bad thing. In fact, it's how your body releases pent-up energy after a traumatic or distressing event. During your recovery period, let yourself feel your emotions. After crying, you may feel like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders.
Now begin to Discharge Sensations and Release Stress. First, notice your breath and Breathe Notice any sensations that come up naturally. As you release stress hormones, they will present through sensations like shaking, heat, sweating, yawning, goosebumps, changed breath, and gurgling in the stomach.
Grief can be stored in various parts of the body, such as the heart, lungs, throat, and stomach. People may also experience physical sensations like heaviness in the chest or tightness in the throat when experiencing grief.
Some of the symptoms of trauma in children (and adults) closely mimic depression, including too much or too little sleep, loss of appetite or overeating, unexplained irritability and anger, and problems focusing on projects, school work, and conversation.
Smiling is a way to “protect” therapists.
By downplaying their pain they are attempting to minimize the upset they believe they are causing. Laughing while recounting something painful says, “I'm OK, you don't have to take care of me. ' Instead, clients are actually attempting to take care of their therapists.
A traumatic event is time-based, while PTSD is a longer-term condition where one continues to have flashbacks and re-experiencing the traumatic event. In addition, to meet criteria for PTSD there must be a high level of ongoing distress and life impairment.