Trauma is defined by a negative and disruptive event that leads to emotional responses that can last for a limited or extended period of time. These disruptive events include enduring emotional or physical abuse or neglect. They can also include exposure to natural disasters and crime. The loss of a loved one is also considered a traumatic event, among many other things. It’s important to be aware of and look out for the signs of emotional trauma in adults who have experienced such traumas.
In the short term, trauma tends to manifest with feelings of shock, numbness, and denial. However, if left unaddressed, ongoing trauma can lead to unwelcome flashbacks to the inciting event, mood swings, lack of motivation, and the trauma taking root in the body, leading to physical symptoms. Let’s further explore trauma symptoms and how to address them.
Emotional Symptoms of Trauma
The emotions associated with trauma can be confusing because many of them appear to be relatively benign, at least at first. Emotions like guilt and occasional numbness do not seem particularly out of the ordinary if they occur in short bursts. However, these bursts can be trauma hiding in plain sight.
The emotions mentioned above do happen to everyone, but that’s because almost everyone will experience trauma at some point in their lives. What to look out for is severity and persistence, whether you’re monitoring yourself or someone else.
Major signs of emotional trauma include:
- Fear, anxiety, and/or panic that is intense in nature.
- Intrusive thoughts that might include unwelcome flashbacks to the inciting event.
- Deliberate avoidance of triggers and reminders of the event.
- Hypervigilance when it comes to perceived potential threats.
- Feeling numb, detached, and/or emotionally “shut down.”
- On the other hand, feelings of intense sadness, depression, and/or loss of hope.
- Intensely negative emotions and behavior, including anger and irritability leading to emotional outbursts.
- Blaming, guilting, or shaming oneself for the inciting event.
- Struggling with memory and/or concentration.
- Withdrawing socially and self-isolating.
- Withdrawing from previously enjoyed activities and hobbies.
In other words, trauma can run rampant over a person’s emotional well-being and begin to affect their ability to function in their daily life.
Emotional Trauma Can Manifest Physically
Though it might seem counterintuitive, when assessing yourself or someone else for emotional trauma, pay attention to physical symptoms. Once emotional trauma has reached more severe levels and/or due to suppression tactics, the body begins to take on a toll in various ways.
The following are some of the most common physical signs of trauma:
- Headaches and/or migraines.
- Chronic pain, including muscle tensions, leading to persistent stiffness.
- Sleep disruptions, including insomnia, sleeping too much, and sleep pattern changes.
- Persistent fatigue.
- Loss of appetite or overeating.
- Gastrointestinal issues, including but not limited to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- Breathing difficulties, hyperventilation, and shortness of breath.
- Issues with heart rhythm, including increased palpitations and discomfort in the chest.
- Feeling lightheaded or dizzy.
- Rashes or hives developing on the skin.
Keep in mind that these are only some of the physical signs of trauma. Also, it is very common for individuals to experience just a few of these conditions, but it is also very common to experience several of them concurrently, making for a particularly unpleasant experience.
How To Address Trauma
Once you’ve noticed any of these signs in yourself or a loved one, it’s important to take steps toward change or offer appropriate support.
Addressing Your Own Trauma
There are some steps you can generally take on your own to begin to address your own trauma. If your schedule allows for it, attempting to get your daily routines in order has proven beneficial for many. A regular schedule that includes both responsibilities and enjoyed activities, as well as some that will specifically help your trauma symptoms, can provide comfort and stability.
As for those activities that can specifically help address your trauma symptoms, there are plenty.
They include engaging in regular exercise to release tension in the body and promote the release of endorphins, journaling nonjudgmentally about what you’re feeling, and starting a meditation practice to relax the mind and body and learn how to mindfully turn off. It is also generally recommended to eat healthy foods on a regular basis, abstain from drugs and alcohol, and reach out to loved ones for support.
Addressing Trauma in a Loved One
If you are noticing any of the signs of trauma discussed above in a loved one, there are ways you can offer support and encourage them to take steps toward recovery. As mentioned above, support from close friends and family members can be key. That means if you are one of those friends or family members of someone who is suffering, reach out to them. Ask them if they want to talk about how they’re feeling, listen nonjudgmentally, and determine ways you can help that are specific to that person’s situation and needs.
Often, one of the best ways you can support someone who is struggling with trauma is to encourage them to seek mental health care. Not everyone realizes that professional help is an option or they fear that there will be negative judgment about doing so. Let them know that is not the case, and that the most important thing they can do is seek the help they need to recover and live a more fulfilling and peaceful life.
Professional Support to Address the Signs of Emotional Trauma in Adults
That professional support might come in the form of an inpatient stay at a residential mental health facility or in the form of an outpatient program led by professional therapists and clinicians. There are many signs of emotional trauma in adults, both in the form of underlying emotional struggles and in physical discomforts and pains. Don’t ignore these signs. Instead, take action to address them and your overall health.
Contact LifeSync Malibu to learn more about our mental health treatments today.