Trauma and PTSD Treatment

What is PTSD?

Trauma begins with a tremendously upsetting experience that overwhelms the body and leads to a change in one's physiological state. The experience may be a single traumatic event such as a car accident, natural disaster or assault, or it may be a collection of experiences that are threatening to one's sense of safety such as sexual abuse, repeated exposure to violence, living in a war zone, or attending crime scenes. In the face of threat, one is essentially unable to prevent the inevitable and may collapse into a primitive state of survival, often referred to as fight, flight, or freeze. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) refers to the inability for one's brain and body to reestablish a sense of safety long after the life threat is over. The body continues to respond as if it is in danger, despite a cognitive understanding that there is no imminent threat.

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The development of PTSD depends on a large number of factors, including but not limited to: one's access to a support network shortly after the event(s), early life experiences, and socioeconomic status.  This is why some people may go on to develop PTSD following a traumatic experience while others do not. If you suffer from PTSD, or other trauma-related disorder, you may experience a combination of the following symptoms:

• Intrusive thoughts and memories related to the trauma

• Strong physical reactions to trauma reminders (heart palpitations, increased perspiration, racing heart, muscle tension, nausea)

• Significant psychological distress in response to situations that evoke memories of the trauma (intense fear, anger, rage, guilt, or shame)

• Nightmares or flashbacks related to the experience

• Hypervigilance which may involve scanning one's environment for threat, being on guard, tense, or keyed up

• Strong and recurrent negative feelings 

• Negative thoughts about oneself, others or the world

• Difficulty with concentration

• Sleep problems

• Risk-taking

• Irritability 

• Feeling disconnected or detached from others

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A traumatized individual will often begin establishing rules to guide their behaviour in an effort to avoid situations that activate their trauma. For instance, they may begin avoiding people, places, situations, or conversations that remind them of their traumatic experience. They may become extra cautious in new relationships and have difficulty establishing trust. Additional coping strategies may include substance use, excessive spending or sexually risky behaviour.  These rules and patterns of behaviour tend to provide a (false) sense of control and temporarily relieve the intensity of symptoms. Unfortunately, they actually serve to reinforce the trauma and keep the individual stuck in a state of survival. 

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