Traumatic situations have a significant impact on a person’s mental and physical health. Although the physical effects of trauma may heal quickly, the impact of trauma on mental health is much more dangerous if left untreated. Trauma has a serious and lasting impact on someone’s emotional and mental health. Trauma has both short-term and long-term effects. Immediately after a traumatic event, people often have strong emotions such as fear, anger, confusion, and despair. It clouds our judgment and thinking to make rational decisions that can help us heal. It can be difficult to believe or accept what has happened to us, and when we do, feelings of revenge or a need for justice overwhelm the healing process.
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Flashbacks and regrets constantly appear in people’s minds and distract them from daily life. You will often see people suffering from some type of trauma staring at the wall or quickly losing interest in conversations. This often happens when they are flooded with flashbacks of memories of the incident. The human mind forces us to think about traumatic events because it wants us to build survival skills to combat them. Post-traumatic therapy is often recommended because the counselor will help the victim realize that the traumatic event happened in the past and has little impact on their future. These initial reactions are normal and necessary during recovery from injury. They often go away when the person thinks rationally about the traumatic events and works to build strong resilience. If trauma is not treated professionally and promptly, these early signs will be lifelong mental health problems. One of the most common mental health problems resulting from trauma is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Constant wakefulness, emotional numbness, unstoppable nightmares or flashbacks are common signs of PTSD.
Victims of trauma are also at risk for clinical depression, which is characterized by helplessness, lack of motivation, chronic sadness, loss of appetite, and insomnia. If someone has anxiety problems, trauma can worsen the condition. Traumatic stress can lead to panic attacks, increased heart rate, excessive sweating, and difficulty breathing. To avoid signs of these mental health problems, individuals also rely on alcohol and drugs.
Along with mental health, trauma also profoundly affects the structure of the brain. Every human body is designed to keep us safe, but when exposed to acute stress and trauma, the body can try to lose control. Prolonged stress caused by traumatic events can change parts of the brain that help control emotions, memory and intelligence. While yoga and meditation help people heal themselves and regain emotional control, recovery from deep trauma can only be achieved with effective therapies and treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Trauma Focused (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). With trauma-informed treatment from trained and educated counselors, you can recover from traumatic events. (Inputs by Dr. Kriti Gaur)
