What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is an anxiety disorder that can develop in some individuals who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. The PTSD response is initiated when the fight-or-flight response is activated, a critical function of your brain designed to safeguard you from a similar traumatic experience. But sometimes, it becomes too sensitive, triggering anxiety in everyday situations where there’s no real danger.
PTSD can affect people of all ages and backgrounds, and can result from a wide range of traumatic experiences including but not limited to:
- Military combat
- Sexual assault
- Physical assault
- Natural disasters
- Car accidents
- Childhood abuse
- Witnessing a violent event
The primary characteristic of PTSD is the presence of intense, disturbing symptoms that persist for an extended period after the traumatic event. These symptoms can be categorised into four main clusters:
Intrusive Thoughts: These are unwanted, distressing memories of the traumatic event. They can include flashbacks, nightmares, and distressing thoughts that intrude into a person’s consciousness.
Avoidance and Numbing: People with PTSD may actively avoid reminders of the traumatic event, including avoiding places, people, or situations that trigger their memories. They may also experience emotional numbness, detachment from loved ones, and a decreased interest in activities they once enjoyed.
Negative Changes in Thinking and Mood: PTSD can lead to negative changes in a person’s beliefs and feelings about themselves, others, and the world. This can result in feelings of guilt, shame, fear, or anger. Cognitive distortions, such as persistent negative beliefs about safety, trust, or self-worth, are common.
Arousal and Reactivity: People with PTSD often experience heightened arousal and reactivity, such as irritability, anger, difficulty sleeping, and an exaggerated startle response. They may also have problems with concentration and memory.
Why Some Develop PTSD, Not Others
Even if two people, like twins, experience the same trauma, one may develop PTSD while the other does not.
- Trauma is not just about what happens; it’s about how the brain perceives and stores the experience (how it feels to that person at that time). One twin’s brain may process the trauma and gradually move forward, while the other’s brain stays stuck in survival mode, leading to PTSD.
- Some individuals naturally use adaptive coping mechanisms (e.g., problem-solving, seeking support). Others may internalise trauma, leading to avoidance, fear and PTSD symptoms.
- If one twin had a stronger emotional support system (e.g., a teacher, friend or therapist), they may have felt safer and more able to process the trauma. A lack of support can make PTSD more likely.
- If one twin believes “It wasn’t my fault” and has a sense of control, they may recover more easily. If the other believes “I am powerless” or “I am broken”, PTSD is more likely.
Analogy: Imagine two identical houses hit by a hurricane.
One house has a strong foundation and good drainage; it suffers damage but stays standing.
The other house has cracks in the foundation and poor drainage; it floods and takes longer to repair.
It’s the same storm but with a different impact.
What is CPTSD?
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is an anxiety disorder that shares some similarities with traditional Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but is often associated with exposure to prolonged and repeated traumatic events, particularly in interpersonal relationships. CPTSD.
CPTSD typically arises in situations where an individual has experienced chronic trauma or repeated exposure to traumatic events over an extended period, often in childhood or abusive relationships.
Some key differences between CPTSD and PTSD include:
Complex Trauma: CPTSD results from exposure to complex or chronic traumatic experiences, such as ongoing physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or captivity, rather than a single traumatic event.
Symptom Presentation: CPTSD shares many symptoms with PTSD, such as intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and emotional dysregulation, but it also includes additional symptoms related to disruptions in self-identity, interpersonal relationships, and affect regulation.
Affect Regulation: People with CPTSD often struggle with emotional dysregulation, which can lead to difficulties in managing emotions and coping with stress.
Self-Identity Issues: CPTSD can cause disruptions in one’s self-concept and self-esteem, often resulting from chronic feelings of shame, guilt, and worthlessness.
Interpersonal Problems: Individuals with CPTSD may have difficulty forming and maintaining healthy relationships due to trust issues, difficulties with boundaries, and attachment problems.
Somatic Symptoms: Some people with CPTSD may experience physical symptoms and health problems as a result of their ongoing trauma.
Overcoming Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Imagine your life is a movie. Normally, it plays smoothly from beginning to end, with all sorts of happy and sad parts. But if something scary happens, it’s like the movie gets stuck on that one scene, playing it over and over again. This can make you feel like you’re reliving the bad thing, even though you’re safe now. These scary replays are called flashbacks.
Even though flashbacks are awful, they’re your brain’s way of trying to help you deal with the bad thing. It keeps showing you the scene to persuade you to work through it and feel better. The good news is, with help, you can learn to control the movie projector in your mind and move on to the happier parts of your film.
To help you begin the journey of altering your perception of the trauma, consider these questions:
Was It Personal to You? It’s crucial to explore whether you believe the trauma was a personal attack on you. Often, this feeling of being a victim can keep you trapped. Look for evidence indicating that the event was not specifically about you. For example, if you were the victim of a random attack, you might consider that the attacker was targeting any potential victim, not you specifically.
Do You Feel Guilt? Feelings of guilt can arise from a belief that you were responsible for the traumatic event or that you made a poor choice. It’s important to recognise that guilt is only valid if you directly and intentionally orchestrate the traumatic event. If you didn’t have foreknowledge and couldn’t have changed the outcome, you are not at fault.
Do You Feel Anger? Holding onto anger towards the perpetrator can harm you more than them. Consider altering your emotions by shifting from resentment to pity. Pity the perpetrator for their mean, cruel, or violent actions, as such behaviour likely stems from a life filled with negativity and trauma. Understand that they, too, are affected by their emotional baggage.
Do You Experience Flashbacks? Flashbacks persist until you find a resolution and make peace with the event. You’ll never forget the trauma, but you can reduce its emotional grip by shifting your perspective from victim to victor. Try to visualise the flashback from a third-party perspective, as if you’re observing it as a bystander. This can help you see the event differently and feel less emotionally entangled with it.
Do You Feel Blamed? If you have PTSD, consider what you may be blaming for what you can no longer do or experience. Question why you’ve assigned blame to a particular place or thing, as you may discover you’re holding onto misplaced blame and protecting yourself from imagined threats.
