Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms of Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be divided into three main types:
- symptoms of physiological hyperarousal,
- reexperiencing PTSD symptoms, and
- PTSD avoidance / dissociative symptoms.
It is important to note that many people experience some of the following symptoms and find they subsequently resolve over the days following the traumatic event, without the need of consulting a mental health professional. However if symptoms are severe, interfere with work or other activities, or persist, it is advisable to seek professional assistance. For more information on PTSD therapists / psychologists click here.
Physiological Hyperarousal Symptoms of PTSD
Some of the “hyper-arousal” PTSD symptoms include: sleep problems, an exaggerated startle response (being ‘ jumpy), hypervigilance (being ‘on guard’), irritability or anger, and concentration problems.
Sleep Problems / Insomnia
Sleep problems are one of the most common symptoms of Post traumatic Stress Disorder. This can involve sleep onset insomnia (trouble getting to sleep), middle-waking insomnia, or early waking. For those who wake during the night, nightmares or anxious rumination through the night can be the course of waking. Early waking is sometimes due to PTSD itself but can also be a result of depression which can go along with PTSD.
Concentration & Memory Problems
People with Post traumatic Stress Disorder often report difficulties in concentrating as a troubling symptom. They may find that they lose track of conversations or cannot recall what they have just watched on television. Because concentration plays a critical role in memory storage and memory retrieval many people with Post traumatic Stress Disorder report symptoms of poor memory.
It is not unusual for PTSD sufferers to tell their psychologist that they are concerned that they might have dementia, so great are their memory problems. Problems reported by PTSD sufferers include: losing things, forgetting appointments, forgetting things their partner or family members have told them, and things in strange places such as finding socks in the refrigerator!
People with PTSD also sometimes experience a loss of memory for details related to the traumatic event. These sorts of memory problems appear to often be caused by either dissociation at the time of the incident, or suppression of memories due to anxiety related mental avoidance. The cause of the memory problems will likely determine whether or not you may recall these details in the future.
Of course it’s not impossible to have memory problems for other reasons, but in practice, if your memory problems started when you developed PTSD, PTSD is more likely to be the cause. So if you are concerned about your memory, discuss it with your treating mental health professional, who is likely to reassure you that it is one of your PTSD symptoms.
Irritability and Anger Volatility
Another common symptom of PTSD is having a “short fuse”. Many people find themselves snapping with their spouse, children, parents and friends. Things that would not normally bother them for no obvious reason become extremely irritating. Some people manage to suppress the expression of their anger externally but find that they experience a strong internal sense of agitation and impatience.
An Exaggerated Startle Response (Jumpiness)
Some people manage to suppress the expression of their anger externally but find that they experience a strong internal sense of agitation and impatience.
Hypervigilance
People with PTSD are frequently ‘looking over their shoulder’ or scanning their environment for potential sources of threat. If the trauma was a physical attack they may be on the look out for potential attackers. If the trauma was an earthquake they may be constantly scanning for evidence of vibrations or objects shaking.
PTSD Symptoms: Intrusion
It is important to note that many people experience some of the following symptoms and find they subsequently resolve over the days following the traumatic event, without the need of consulting a mental health professional. However if symptoms are severe, interfere with work or other activities, or persist, it is advisable to seek professional assistance. For more information on PTSD therapists / psychologists click here.
Re-experiencing Symptoms of PTSD
“Re-experiencing” PTSD symptoms are also sometimes called intrusion symptoms because they involve memories of the trauma, or associated feelings, thoughts, or sensory experiences, breaking into a PTSD sufferers present experience. Some re-experiencing symptoms include:
- nightmares about the traumatic incident or related themes
- intrusive thoughts of the traumatic incident
- feeling as if the traumatic event is happening again
- mental images or flashbacks of the traumatic incident
- recall of the trauma being triggered by reminders in the present
- sensory re-experiences
PTSD Symptoms: Avoidance / Numbing
Avoidance / Emotional Numbing PTSD Symptoms
The third category of PTSD symptoms is “Avoidance / Emotional Numbing”. This describes the sort of defensive responses a person with PTSD appears to engage in to limit their experience of negative emotion associated with the traumatic memory and it’s associated effects. The avoidance symptoms tend to involve more conscious attempts to avoid negative emotion of PTSD. Some of these include:
- Avoiding reminders of the event (eg. Not watching TV news, not associating with people who are associated with the traumatic event)
- Avoiding returning to the site of the traumatic event (where relevant)
- Avoiding discussions about the event, such as changing the subject when someone starts discussing something related to the traumatic memory.
The ‘numbing’ symptoms tend to involve more subconscious attempts to avoid negative emotion of PTSD. These symptoms are sometimes called dissociative symptoms. Some of these include:
- Feeling emotionally detached from others (eg. Not feeling loving feelings)
- Being unable to remember important details of a traumatic event
- Feeling like the future has somehow been cut short
- The person with PTSD feeling like they are “on a different wavelength” to the rest of the world.