Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Have you ever experienced a terrifying occurrence, and the thought of the event never left your mind? That is a sign that you have PTSD. Many people who experience trauma may be challenged to live normal lives and accomplish their daily duties and responsibilities. Some symptoms of PTSD include severe anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks. Individuals may also feel guilty and depressed and become more irritable.

Nightmares and Flashbacks

Nightmares refer to re-experiencing an imaginary traumatic event. If you have a history of panic disorder or coexisting anxiety, you are at a higher risk of experiencing nightmares. A nightmare occurs at night and in dreams that cause one to relive the traumatic experience. In addition, one may often flash back to the experience they had during the traumatic event. If you have PTSD, you are likely to be hypersensitive to the occurrences in your environment. As a result, you may have a challenge falling asleep. You may also have been disturbed and kept waking up. According to researchers, Serotonin, which modulates sleep and emotion, plays a major role in transmitting emotional signals between the environment and the brain. PTSD influences one’s sleep pattern due to the interaction between genes and the environment.

Depression

Being emotionally stuck is a sign that you could be suffering from depression. If you are extremely sad most of the time, such that you cannot meet your daily duties, you could be experiencing depression resulting from an unpleasant event. Such events may include physical abuse, sexual abuse, or accidents. You may need to seek help from a mental health practitioner to identify the cause of your depression and help you overcome it. Depression resulting from PTSD may result from feeling hopeless about the experience and the mental instability caused by the flashbacks. Depression can also lead to emotional outbursts, irrational thinking, and changes in behavior, such as engaging in drug abuse. Seeking medical help is crucial at this stage because it enables one to control and manage their mental health and start living a normal life. Some of the practitioners who may be helpful to you if you have PTSD include counselors and psychiatrists.

Guilt and Personal Blame

Trauma-related guilt results from the feeling that the individual could have intervened and prevented the event from occurring. For instance, you may regret not engaging in an activity that could have prevented you from experiencing the trauma. In some instances, people who have overcome a traumatic event may suffer from survivor guilt. Survivor guilt occurs when someone feels guilty for having survived a traumatic event that other people in their company failed to overcome. Trauma-related guilt can be unique to any trauma experienced. The individual tends to blame themselves for engaging in or not engaging in an activity that caused others to have a challenge overcoming the trauma. You are likely to suffer trauma-related guilt if you have experienced sexual abuse, lost a loved one, or experienced physical abuse. Personal blame arises when one attributes the cause of the trauma to themselves and has a great conviction that they could have prevented the event.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, It is wise to consider seeking help from a counselor. Mental health is crucial for your day-to-day survival. Make a decision today and speak out about it!

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