When you’ve been through a traumatic experience, the psychological effects can become immediately evident or they can be delayed for a period of time. As a survivor of trauma, it is important to keep a few things in mind. There are specific stages of trauma just as there are specific stages of grieving and other healing processes. Whichever stage you are in depends upon how well you are using coping skills and are effectively healing from your experience.
Some survivors continue living and acting as if nothing has happened to them only to find that one day, it all comes crashing down on their heads, so to speak. Some immediately begin a grieving process and are able to deal with their trauma in a healthy manner. Some trauma survivors have a delayed onset of symptoms because the trauma was so severe that the brain has to find ways to process the event. This type of trauma is extreme and likely leads to PTSD or C-PTSD.
Trauma psychologically changes a person, but it physiologically changes a person, too. The body tends to overproduce stress hormones. Adrenaline production rises to roughly twice normal levels and neurotransmitters such as serotonin may not be high enough to combat the adrenaline. Sometimes people develop rapid heart rates, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Some notice that they hyperventilate more, which can lead to panic attacks. The brain produces nightmares in an effort to process distressful memories. It is very common to experience intrusive memories and have flashbacks. External sources can trigger negative memories and feelings that are related to the trauma. These are psychological events that occur without our permission and at times, without warning.
Denial of a traumatic experience is a common and rational way to react, but it leads to more psychological problems down the road. When in denial, a person’s will and body are at odds about the experience. If you go through a traumatic experience and are in denial, you should know that the body will do what it has to do to protect itself. The body usually wins. For example, dissociation, a common PTDS symptom is produced when the nervous system is overwhelmed. This is the body’s way of conserving energy and calming the body out of a negative mental state.
Denying the severity of how a traumatic event has affected you does not change the facts and inhibits a healthy healing process. Although it is difficult to deal with psychological changes, the degree of denial that you may experience directly relates to the degree of coping skills that you have learned in order to deal with these changes. And, as we all know, acknowledging the problem is the first step toward positive change.
