Do I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder aka PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur if you have experienced a traumatic event. In the realm of mental health, trauma is defined as an acute event where you fear you may lose your life and/or chronic and repeated exposure to abusive events, such as being abused and neglected in childhood, abusive relationships in childhood, incarcerations to name a few. A person can have experienced both an acute traumatic event and chronic exposure to trauma in an abusive relationships. PTSD diagnosis is made at least three months after the event, if it is an acute trauma. PTSD is the result of your brain being overly activated by the traumatic event.
PTSD is what happens when a person experiences a traumatic event(s) and then gets stuck inside the memory of the event. The nervous system is perpetually activated. The stress response, which is mediated by hormones and neurotransmitters, is over active. The memory or memories plays on a loop inside the mind such that the person feels stuck and like they can’t get out of it.
Memories of the event(s) relived, reminders of the trauma, such as a song, or a certain kind of car, or a smell, can cause you to think you are re-experiencing the trauma. This is colloquially known as flashbacks. The example I provide my clients is, you are listening to Led Zeppelin on the radio and have a bag of McDonalds in your car when your car hits a patch of black ice and slides off the road. You are a friend are seriously injured from the car crash. Your injuries heal, you are back at work and back in your life when you smell McDonalds or hear Led Zeppelin when all of a sudden you notice your heart pounding, your palms sweating and you feel an incredible amount of anxiety. A flashback is when the traumatic memory that has not been processed is activated, some use the word “triggered,” and you feel like you are back in the moment of the event.
Intrusive thoughts are thoughts of the traumatic event(s) that you are not wanting to have that flood into your awareness when you are doing something else, like reading or watching television.
People who have experienced trauma think that the world is a dangerous place and as such, when they are out in the world they are always looking for danger. They are keyed up, have a hard time relaxing and feel like they are on edge. This is known as hypervigilance.
A result of having an unprocessed trauma is that your nervous system is on edge, if you hear a sudden loud noise, such as a car backfiring, your startle response is much more exaggerated. This is known as hyperstartle.
Nightmares of the traumatic event that wake you up from sleep, make it difficult to fall back asleep and even afraid to go to sleep for fear of having a nightmare is another symptom of PTSD.
Sometimes what happens is that the person feels so unsafe, and this is often the case with chronic exposure to abuse, that the brain has the person leave their bodies as a way to feel safe. This is known as dissociation. It is the result of overstimulation of the vagus nerve, which runs down the front of the torso from the brain to the gut. Dissociation can feel like your chest is numb, part of your body is numb, you feel like you are outside your body looking down on yourself and/or your memory is impaired such that you lose chunks of time.
Accompanying a diagnosis of PTSD is often symptoms of depression that include, general dysphoric mood, low energy, low sex drive, lack of enjoyment in things, and sometimes even suicidal ideations. A person can also have symptoms of anxiety that include ruminating thoughts, feelings of unease and worry, muscle tension and gastrointestinal disturbances.
There is a screening form called the PCL5 that can be used to see if you may meet criteria for PTSD. I am not going to include it here as this can be activating and it is better to have someone fill out this form when they are in a place where they can have some guidance in managing a trauma response should one occur.
Am happy to speak with you more about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.