All humans endure terrible events at some point in their lives. If those events cause long-lasting damage, they can be traumatic. When a traumatic experience impacts daily functions, it may become a mental health condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Roughly 10 percent of women and 4 percent of men will struggle with PTSD. The highest risk populations are those who have endured sexual trauma — particularly in childhood.
Trauma impacts you by affecting your brain. Understanding this process is a giant step for those who suffer from PTSD. With that in mind, let’s explore the process of PTSD and how to heal.
What Is PTSD?
PTSD is a diagnosable mental health condition. It develops in response to traumatic events — both recent and from long ago. If it is not dealt with, this disorder alters your perception of threats and your sensitivity to perceive threats. Common symptoms of PTSD include:
Nightmares
Flashbacks
Avoidance of any reminder of the trauma
The development of phobias
Loss of concentration and focus
Hyper-vigilance and hyper-arousal
Sleep
Eating disturbances
Anxiety
Focusing on the negative
Reduced impact control
Any or all of these symptoms lasting more than two weeks would be valid cause to seek medical help. That would be reason enough to assume trauma is affecting your brain.
How Trauma Is Affecting Your Brain
Generally speaking, trauma affects three parts of your brain that work together in the name of managing your stress:
Amygdala
The amygdala is ground zero for your emotions and instincts. Whenever you are reminded of the traumatic event, the amygdala behaves as if the trauma is happening right now. As if it is the first time.
Prefrontal Cortex
Designed to regulate your impulses and emotions, the prefrontal cortex is suppressed by trauma. In such a state, you feel unable to control your fear. It’s as if you’re “stuck” in fight-or-flight mode.
Hippocampus
The hippocampus controls memory. When trauma reduces its activity, the lines between past and present are blurred. Your brain is unable to differentiate between the past event and your present memories of that event.
How Do These Brain Dysfunctions Manifest in your Daily Life?
We identified a bunch of PTSD symptoms above. Let’s now flesh out a few of them to reveal how your brain has been affected.
More Fear, Less Positivity
A hyperactive amygdala leaves assigning negative meaning to almost every event or interaction. You lose touch with any sense of day-to-day joy. Fear becomes your default setting.
Hyperarousal and Hypervigilance
Again, this relates to a hyperactive amygdala. That part of your brain releases more and more of a chemical called norepinephrine. This will help keep you locked into a hyper-alert state. Hypervigilance can result in difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep.
Angry and Impulsive Reactions
People with PTSD struggle with controlling their reactions. The affected prefrontal cortex is not able to manage or deal with emotions and triggers.
Treatment Options for Your Trauma-Affected Brain
If left untreated, trauma can hurt your relationships, keep you in a state of anxiety, and cause a wide range of other health issues. The good news is that many good treatment options exist. Of course, sometimes medications are prescribed. But, just as likely, you will find relief through one of many forms of psychotherapy.
Now that you know more about how your brain is affected, you can probably see why therapy is such a common and popular choice. Working with an experienced counselor is an excellent way to dig deeper into the source of your distress. You can recover from PTSD, but you will need professional guidance. Let’s talk soon to get you moving on the path toward healing.
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