Identifying And Addressing Common Trauma Symptoms

If you’ve undergone a traumatic event or series of events, you may experience a variety of changes to your mental health. However, it might not be obvious that these shifts are a response to the difficult ordeal you’ve been through. What trauma symptoms should you watch for after going through a dangerous, terrifying, or disempowering event?

Symptoms of trauma can include negative thoughts, moods, and emotions, excessive physiological arousal, and intrusive recollections of traumatic events. They may also include behaviors like reckless risk-taking and significant efforts to avoid anything associated with the traumatic event. While experiencing some of these symptoms in the immediate aftermath of trauma may not be a sign of a mental health disorder, if they persist and cause significant disruption to your life, they could be signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A licensed therapist can help you process traumatic events and move forward.

What can cause trauma symptoms?

Many kinds of frightening, damaging, or severely stressful events can result in mental health symptoms. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), any incident that causes or threatens severe injury, sexual violence, or death can potentially be traumatizing. While it would likely be impossible to list every possible cause of trauma symptoms, the following types of traumatic events are often associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): 

• Military combat
• Interpersonal violence
• Terrorism
• Rape or other types of sexual assault
• Being affected by a natural disaster
• Surviving a life-threatening accident
• Physical or emotional abuse
• The sudden loss of a loved one

An individual does not necessarily need to be directly harmed or threatened by a traumatizing occurrence to experience symptoms. Some people develop PTSD symptoms after exposure to details about traumatic experiences that have happened to others, such as medical and emergency service workers who frequently encounter serious traumatic injuries in the workplace. This phenomenon is frequently referred to as secondary traumatic stress or STS.

Some kinds of harmful or threatening events may be particularly likely to cause trauma symptoms. A 2017 review found that interpersonal violence typically led to the highest risk of PTSD, particularly sexual violence and stalking. 

Prolonged abuse, especially in childhood, may result in a condition known as complex PTSD or C-PTSD, which can involve additional symptoms not found in typical cases of PTSD. 

Trauma symptoms commonly fade within a few weeks after the inciting event. If they persist for a month or more and cause significant disruption to your life and emotional well-being, they may be signs of PTSD.

The four categories of trauma symptoms

Mental health symptoms resulting from trauma are typically classified into four main categories or clusters. According to the National Center for PTSD, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder requires symptoms from all four categories. However, it’s possible to experience a more limited selection of these difficulties even if you don’t meet the formal diagnostic criteria for PTSD.

#1: Intrusion symptoms

#2: Avoidance symptoms

Trauma survivors may go to significant lengths to keep from encountering possible reminders of a traumatic event. Avoidance symptoms can include changing routines, giving up hobbies, refusing to associate with certain people, and refusing to participate in certain activities or go to certain places. Those experiencing these symptoms might also leave situations quickly when they encounter a reminder of trauma. 

Avoidance can lead to significant functional impairment, lifestyle disruption, and social isolation. It may also work against your efforts at recovery. Going out of your way to keep from being reminded of your trauma can increase your stress and anxiety when you do encounter triggers.

#3: Cognition and mood symptoms

Some PTSD symptoms can affect a person’s thinking and emotions. Notable mood and cognitive symptoms include those discussed below:

• Partial amnesia: It may be hard to recall certain features of traumatic events or the period surrounding them. 
• Lack of pleasure and motivation: The effects of trauma can make it difficult to experience positive emotions like happiness. Survivors may also have less interest in doing things that they would previously have found enjoyable.
• Negative beliefs and expectations: Many people who have undergone trauma develop unhelpful, distorted beliefs about themselves and the world, such as excessive self-blame or pessimism.
• Negative emotions: Persistent feelings like shame, guilt, fear, and anger can be common PTSD symptoms.
• Disconnection from others: The aftermath of trauma can leave a person sensing that they are detached or cut off from the people around them. 

#4: Arousal and reactivity symptoms

The final category of symptoms associated with PTSD involves hyperarousal — an exaggerated or overactive threat response. Following the intense stress of trauma, the mind and body may be primed to see threats, even when they’re not present.

This can manifest as a sense of hypervigilance in which a person is watchful and tense most or all of the time. Survivors may be easily startled by innocuous sounds and movements. They might have difficulty with concentration or with falling and remaining asleep. 

Hyperarousal can also lead to explosive outbursts of anger or unpredictable panic attacks. In some cases, it can prompt reckless, high-risk behaviors, such as aggressive driving, excessive substance use, or unsafe sexual choices. 

Other mental health concerns associated with trauma

Although PTSD is the mental health condition most commonly and directly associated with experiencing trauma, it’s not the only possible mental health consequence. For example, many people exposed to traumatic events may develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

Traumatic events in childhood are also considered significant non-genetic risk factors for psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

Some studies suggest that traumatizing events during childhood may increase the lifelong risk of developing several kinds of mental disorders. The severe stress that trauma can place on the body and mind may disrupt cognitive and emotional function in a variety of ways, leaving those affected more vulnerable to many types of psychological difficulties.

Treating trauma symptoms

Current evidence suggests that psychological challenges arising from trauma can be most effectively treated with psychotherapy provided by a qualified mental health professional. Although certain prescription antidepressants may be able to help with arousal and reactivity symptoms such as nightmares, sleep disturbances, and panic attacks, talk therapy is generally considered more effective at producing overall improvement in PTSD symptomatology.

Trauma-focused therapies developed specifically for PTSD treatment may be particularly effective. Notable examples include the following:

• Cognitive processing therapy (CPT): Strongly recommended for use in PTSD treatment by the American Psychological Association, CPT generally assists individuals in rethinking negative beliefs resulting from trauma. 
• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT): This modified version of CBT was primarily created for use with children affected by abuse but has been found effective for adult trauma survivors as well.
• Prolonged exposure: Based on helping clients face traumatic memories in controlled, supported environments, prolonged exposure therapy can produce significant, long-term reductions in PTSD symptoms. 
• Cognitive therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD): Also adapted from standardized CBT, this APA-recommended PTSD treatment normally guides participants to reassess the meaning they’ve given to their trauma. 
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): Like prolonged exposure, EMDR typically encourages clients to revisit traumatic memories, but pairs this process with eye motions and other sensory stimulation meant to reduce the associated stress. Studies suggest it’s highly effective at treating PTSD. 

In practice, therapists often combine techniques from two or more of these treatment methods. Certain modalities may be particularly helpful for treating certain types of trauma symptoms (though this can depend heavily on individual factors). For instance:

• Neurological research suggests CT-PTSD may decrease re-experiencing symptoms.
• Exposure therapies can reduce reactivity and hyperarousal.
• CPT may be effective at counteracting feelings of excessive self-blame.

Locating a treatment provider for trauma symptoms

If you’re seeking mental health care following traumatic experiences, you may want to ask your primary care doctor for a referral to a therapist trained in trauma-focused therapies like CPT or EMDR. Many organizations also offer free online tools you can use to search for qualified providers:

• The Provider Roster for cognitive processing therapy
• The Psychologist Locator tool from the American Psychological Association
• The Nationwide Directory of Prolonged Exposure Providers from Emory University
• The EMDR Therapist Directory from the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA)
• The Find a Clinician database from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)

You can also search for care through an online therapy platform, such as BetterHelp. This often makes it easier to find a therapist with whom you “click,” since you can enter specific preferences and areas of focus and be matched with a provider who fits your needs.

A growing evidence base supports the effectiveness of online therapy for a wide range of mental health conditions, including trauma-related disorders like PTSD. Cognitive processing therapy, for instance, was found to work equally well via telemedicine and in-person sessions in a 2015 clinical trial.