While the symptoms of physical trauma are usually easy to see, the symptoms of an experience that a person perceives to be emotionally or psychologically traumatic are often less clear. The after effects can include a broad range of new, or changed, beliefs, thoughts or behaviors that usually relate to how a person sees the world, or interacts with it, in a new or different way. Where new symptoms do not immediately appear, they may develop over an extended period of time and be evident months or even years after the emotionally traumatic experience.
It is helpful to be able to recognize the signs of emotional trauma in order to understand when professional help would be appropriate. There are no absolute signs or symptoms that are unique to trauma, and experiencing the signs of emotional trauma does not make a person weak or somehow less able to cope.
Types of Emotional Trauma
There are many psychological effects of emotional trauma. Some of these effects may include persistent feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, or other feelings that seem unrelated to the trauma. Other effects may include feelings of dissociation, or emotional numbness. People may experience memories or feelings that seem traumatic as intrusive and/or repetitive. Some may begin to see the world as a scary and threatening place. Others may begin to feel emotionally numb.
People may begin to alter their daily activities and habits in order to avoid people, places or things that may serve as a reminder of the traumatic event. Some of these changes may include avoidance of certain people, places, or activities. Others may begin to feel the need to be, and remain, constantly alert to the situation around them, and may become easily irritated by normal activities.
Trauma and Behavioral Health
Trauma impacts people in a number of ways. Personality changes may include social withdrawal, increased aggressiveness, and an inability to communicate effectively. Other changes may include impulsiveness and a lack of motivation.
In response to and as a result of trauma, a person may engage in a number of maladaptive behaviors in an effort to cope. The use of alcohol and drugs, withdrawal from social situations, oversleeping and overeating are only a few examples. Engaging in these behaviors may provide a temporary reprieve from symptoms of trauma; however, the behaviors, themselves, may become maladaptive and may negatively impact a person’s health and well-being.
When a person exhibits changes in behavior and psychology as a result of trauma, a number of negative outcomes may occur, and symptoms of an emotional disorder may manifest.
PTSD and Ramifications of Trauma on Sleep
The inability to attain or maintain the sleep necessary to restore the body may persist following an experience with a traumatic event. People may have a heightened anxiety about going to sleep because they fear they will have nightmares or experience intrusive memories. People may also experience an inability to control their dreams, during which they may experience the traumatic event, or may have other terrifying and distressing images.
Individuals with PTSD and other psychological disorders associated with trauma may experience a myriad of symptoms including negative changes in mood and cognition, and hypervigilance.
Difficulty Sleeping and Emotional Dysregulation
The inability to attain emotional stability may persist following the experience of a traumatic event. Small, mild stressors may provoke rage or other maladaptive emotional responses. Alternatively, a person may be unresponsive to emotional stimuli and experiences.
The nervous system becomes hyper-reactive after trauma. This makes it harder to control your emotions and anxiety. This hyper-reactivity can be triggered by any number of things: places, sounds, smells, people, or situations.
It is very important to be able to figure out what triggers you and why, so that you are able to better control your emotional responses. This is where counseling and mental health treatment comes into play.
The goal of mental health treatment and counseling is to better control your emotional health, teach you ways to cope with your feelings and trauma and emotional regulation in a healthy way, and provide you with the emotional tools to lead a happy, healthy life.
How and what mental health treatment and counseling focuses on is solely based on the personal preferences and goals of the individual seeking treatment. The concentration of treatment is typically on the traumatic experience that brought about the mental health issues and the feelings associated with that experience. This includes any and all emotional issues associated with the trauma. There are many avenues of treatment to be explored, including the use of medication, if that is determined to be in the best interest of the individual.
Mental health treatment is designed to be individualized to the needs of the patient. This means that you do not have to be severely traumatized to seek treatment, rather mental health treatment is for you if your trauma is impacting your day-to-day life.
Mental Health Services Regardless of Insurance
Cost and insurance usually determine an individual’s access to mental health services. This, however, is not the case for other levels of mental health services. Depending on your specific situation, there could be mental health services near you.
To identify the mental health services that are most appropriate for you, you have to determine the types of payment and insurance (if any) that a mental health service accepts, whether they accept your insurance, the types of trauma services offered, whether they have same day or next day availability, and the types of trauma-related services that they offer. Often times, the easiest way to find the name of a mental health practitioner is to search for “behavioral health therapist near me.”
The effects of trauma are far reaching. These include but are not limited to interpersonal relationship problems, behavioral problems, problems with self-regulation and self-control, and problems with sleep and other activities of daily living.
You do not have to continue living with the problems caused by trauma. You can contact Advanced Health Preference Group to help you locate mental health services that are appropriate for you and to help you with other trauma related mental health problems that you may be experiencing.