Trauma Has Long Term Impacts
Depression, Numbness & Hopelessness
Still trying to figure out if you may feel like you are swinging in the wind? Not sure why you just can't get it together? PTSD or CPTSD could be at the root of why you are not feeling good about life or yourself. Plus it could be holding you back from what you can only dream about.
Trauma is unique in many ways: what a person's subconcsious deems as a threat, if it can be processed with the tools they have and the way the event mentally, emotionally and physically impacts a person. Think about it as your "Trauma Fingerprint". Questions you may ask yourself include:
Do I experience intense emotions like fear, anger, or sadness and at other times feel emotionally numb or detached?
Does being in big crowds cause me to get anxious?"
When I am faced with life situations, do I feel hopeless or depressed?
Have I ever "blanked out" during a situation and almost felt like I was moving through a dream? Feel disassociated from my body?
The inability to react appropriately comes down to the nervous system not knowing how to react. - your personal alarm system is malfunctioning. An event happened in your life that was either a one-time traumatic event or an on-going trauma that has caused your "danger alarm" to malfunction. This chronic state has kept the nervous system in a prolonged state of "fight, flight, freeze, or fawn" making it challenging to achieve a sense of calm and safety.
Long-Term Physical Health Issues
Stress is often called the "Silent Killer". Psych Today states that is it linked directly to the top six leading causes of death. With the recent studies explaining how PTSD increases the chances of a person developing autoimmune diseases by 58%. With CPTSD generally beginning in childhood, it is easy to understand how the underlying stress can impact the body in a negative way:
Chronic Pain: Persistent stress can result in ongoing aches and pains with no apparent cause.
Cardiovascular Issues: There is an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.
Autoimmune Disorders: Elevated stress levels may weaken the immune system, leading to autoimmune diseases (IBS, Lupus, Celiac)
Metabolic Disorders: Conditions like Type 1 diabetes can develop due to prolonged stress responses.
These physical manifestations highlight the profound connection between mental, emotional and physical health. Which is why it is so important to find a daily program that works for you in reducing your stress levels.
Difficulties in Relationships and Trust in Others
Due to past traumas, individuals with PTSD and CPTSD often find it challenging to trust others or feel safe in relationships. An article in Psychology Today outlines how this can lead to isolation or involvement in unhealthy relational patterns, further impacting their social well-being. Key concerns are:
Repeating the same type of relationship: Gravitating to those situations that trigger our unhealed wounds. These may even be unsafe relationships.
Emotional Avoidance: Disengage oneself from world around us as a coping mechanism. This may include pushing others away as a way to protect.
Lack of Trust: In others and in self. If someone of authority in broke that trust somewhere in our past, then it is very difficult to trust anyone in that type of roll in the future.
Relationship avoidance: Depending on the circumstances, the lack of desire to enter into any type of long-term relationship is avoided. This could be thought as the only way to be safe.
A person could show one or two of the symptoms, or all of them to some degree. Keep in mind that these are not only relevant to family, significant others and friends. It could also make it very difficult to manage in a work environment with peers, as well as authority figures.
