Can you define trauma and PTSD?
Trauma can occur when a person, or someone they love, experiences serious injury, a life-threatening situation, or sexual or physical abuse.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops when the emotional impact of trauma hasn’t been healed, and the symptoms interfere with daily life.
That can look like:
- Reliving the distressing event through intrusive memories, nightmares, or flashbacks.
- Avoiding people or places that are reminders.
- Being more irritable, sad, or depressed.
A person’s brain chemistry starts to change and oftentimes, they become hyper vigilant, seeing danger where others may not or reexperiencing their trauma through intrusive thoughts or nightmares. Additionally, with PTSD, the trauma affects how they view themselves, others, and the world around them. They live according to a trauma-informed belief system.
It’s estimated 8% of women and 4% of men will develop PTSD after a traumatic event.
What is complex PTSD?
A person can develop complex PTSD if they’ve had repeated and prolonged experiences of trauma over an extended period of time. Typically, we see this beginning in childhood with physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. It can also result from chronic neglect or witnessing domestic violence in the home. A refugee or service member living in a war-torn area can also develop complex PTSD.
How does complex PTSD affect a person’s brain?
Complex PTSD shapes the way a person’s brain functions and how they understand concepts like safety, respect, and trust. When someone hasn’t grown up with safety or secure relationships, they often struggle to internalize the values and beliefs that others develop in a generally caring and safe home.
When we were babies, we cried and were comforted. We learned that we could depend on our primary caregivers to give us what we needed. Over time, we began to understand our emotions, develop impulse control, and learn how to empathize with others. That is part of normal brain development. Oftentimes, when people are in an abusive home or in the foster care system where there is repeated trauma, their brains don’t develop the same way. Due to a lack of validation and support, feelings of isolation and abandonment, the fight, flight, or freeze response gets overdeveloped.
How might complex PTSD impact a person’s behavior?
People with complex PTSD typically feel overwhelming shame, guilt, and a sense of unworthiness. They may believe that what happened to them was their fault, or that it happened because they’re bad people.
That could result in a range of behaviors like these complex PTSD symptoms:
- Difficulty concentrating or staying focused
- Dissociation — losing track of time, feeling disconnected from the world or their body
- Hypervigilance — constantly alert or scanning for danger
- Hyperreactivity — intense emotional reactions, easily startled or angered
- Hypo reactivity — shutting down, going numb, or “freezing”
It depends on the type of trauma and the person, but often, people who grew up in chaos may unknowingly recreate that chaos in their adult lives. This is especially true if they’ve never had healthy relationships or anyone to help them understand that the trauma wasn’t their fault, and it doesn’t define who they are.
How does Rogers treat trauma/PTSD?
Throughout treatment, we are committed to meeting people where they are. Trauma leads to avoidance, which maintains the distressing symptoms. With care and compassion, we gently work with people to challenge their avoidance and the thoughts that they are to blame and that they’re bad people. Our goal is to lift the weight of blame, guilt, and shame by supporting the trauma processing, offering the emotional support they may have lacked.
What hope can you offer a person who is suffering?
I want anyone who is suffering and hasn’t received help to know that trauma and PTSD are treatable. Treatment gives you the opportunity to live life on your terms, and not trauma’s. It’s important to find a person who specializes in trauma treatment.
While it can be scary to turn toward the trauma and process through it, that is where the healing begins and where freedom is found.
By Jennifer Parra Nelsen, LPC, ICS, clinical director, Trauma Recovery Residential Care for Adults and Fire Watch at Rogers Behavioral Health
Rogers offers trauma and complex PTSD treatment
Rogers offers effective trauma and PTSD treatment to meet each person’s unique needs.
Our Fire Watch program is designed specifically for Veterans, military service members, and first responders. Through the virtual outpatient program, we’ll support you on your journey with proven, effective treatment and flexible scheduling.
When you’re ready, call 833-308-588 for a free, confidential screening.
Click here to watch Jennifer talk about types of trauma and how treatment can help.
