PTSD

Facts- Symptoms

This chapter will be to focus on symptoms of PTSD, both ones that I do and don't have. I will name a bunch and give a brief definition of each one. If you want a more in depth description, feel free to comment and ask.

•Flashbacks- A feeling of experiencing a past incident again.

•Nightmare- A bad dream, often caused by anxieties in the real world.

•Dissociation- A sense that you (depersonalization) or the world and/or your feelings, or past experiences (derealization) are not real. A (typically) unconscious way to separate oneself from trauma or anxieties.

•Hyperarousal- A change in behavior and/or thinking; often seen with paranoia and fear of imminent danger; a change in behavior and/or thinking by adrenaline or the "fight-or-flight" response.

•Memory problems- Having issues with short-term or long-term memory, or foggy memory regarding the trauma.

•Child-like behavior- This includes crying, whining, complaining, tantrums, baby-talking, ignoring people/things, ignoring self-care, having no self-soothing, becoming non-verbal, pacing, inability to perform daily activities, pretending to not understand and rocking. Despite what is often said, it is in NO WAY anything sexual.

•Living in the trauma- Seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling or tasting the trauma again. This can be caused by dissociation, from a prolonged flashback, or a series of short, back-to-back flashbacks, or non-epileptic post-traumatic focal seizures (focal seizure with impaired awareness or focal seizure without loss of consciousness. This may be NEAD (Non-epileptic attack disorder), and you may need to consider seeing doctors if you experience non-epileptic post-traumatic seizures.)

•Insomnia- The inability to sleep. This may be caused by the nightmares, but not always.

•Hypersomnia- Sleeping more than what is average for oneself; the inability to awaken from sleep.

•Avoidance- Intentionally or unintentionally staying away from tastes, sounds, sights, smells, feelings, places, or people that remind one of their trauma.

•Impaired concentration- Difficulty focusing on a task.

•Impaired decision making- Difficulty making choices, even small, insignificant ones.

•Anxiety- Fear; This may be regarding the trauma, or general. If you experience anxiety consistently, regardless of if you are in an episode or not, and you feel as if it's always there you may have GAD. (Generalized Anxiety Disorder).

•Depression- Consistent feelings of extreme sadness; this can be accompanied by anxiety, feelings of hopelessness or emptiness, or anger. Other symptoms of PTSD may be caused by depression, such as insomnia/hypersomnia, or impaired focus.

•Dependence- Relying on other(s) for basic needs or feelings of safety.

•Upsetting memories- This is usually remember the traumatic incident in extreme detail.

•Negative thoughts- General feelings of negativity toward yourself, people, or the world.

•Blame- Putting responsibility on yourself or others for causing the traumatic incident.

•Detachment- Having a hard time feeling connected to others emotionally. This can also be a form of dissociation.

•Self-destructive behavior- This can be many things, such as $31f h4*|\/|, unsafe sex, spending sprees, risky behavior without any thought, binge eating, or overuse of drugs or alcohol. There are many forms of reckless or self-destructive behavior.

•Startling- Jumpiness and being easy to scare.

•$v![!d41 thinking- Thoughts of wanting to 3nd 0n3's 1!f3

•Inability to "control" emotions- "Your emotions control you" more than you control them. You may also have the inability to process and recognize your emotions properly.

•Alertness- Being highly aware of your surroundings. This is often part of hyperarousal, but not always.

•(IN YOUNG CHILDREN_) Developmental delays- They may learn slower regarding things such as toilet training, motor skills and speech skills.

•Intrusive thoughts- Unwanted, often uncontrollable, thoughts regarding the trauma.

•Scarring- Stress may cause the body to preserve its water as if it's an emergency, which may make minor cuts or bruises be more likely to scar.

•Tinnitus- Unwanted noise within the ears. This can be ringing, vibrating, buzzing, whistling, or beeping sounds. 

•Weight gain- Hormones are changed during a time of stress, and this may cause a slower metabolism, resulting in weight gain.

•Weight loss- Just as with weight gain, the changing hormones may make it harder to maintain your weight.

•Aching- Random, unexplainable pain.

•Muscle problems- Gaining or strengthening muscles can be increasingly difficult for some with PTSD.

•Blood flow changes- When the "fight-or-flight" is activated in our bodies, your body will redirect blood flow to organs such as the heart, brain and lungs necessary for survival. This may cause your hands, feet and lips to get cold.

•Sweating- Someone with PTSD may have persistent nervous sweating.

•Yawning- Yawning redirects blood flow to the brain, and is often done when stressed or anxious. 

•Anger- This is typically caused by hyperarousal.

•Guilt and/or shame- This goes back to blame. Putting the blame on oneself can cause extreme feelings of guilt and shame.

There are so so many PTSD symptoms that are not talked about and often disregarded to not be part of the disorder, and I want people to be more aware that the disorder is not your typical textbook example you'll see on medical websites. If I knew them all, I would list every single one, and I am sure there are many that I did not put here. Also, I would like to put it out there that symptoms following a few days for up to 3 months after the trauma without recurring is not qualified as PTSD. That is it's own disorder, ASD, Acute Stress Disorder, and it typically goes away after up to 3 months. If you experienced long lasting, or more complicated trauma, with additional symptoms to what is mentioned here, you may have C-PTSD, which is Complex-Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder.

The next chapter will be a short one about causes, and the one following that will be about healthy vs unhealthy coping. I will not be doing a chapter on treatment, since that looks different for everyone, as well as diagnosis.