Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Health

Every­one reacts to trau­ma dif­fer­ent­ly. There’s no right or wrong way to feel after a trau­mat­ic expe­ri­ence, but it is impor­tant to know when to seek help.

Accord­ing to Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG) Direc­tor of Inte­gra­tive Health Ser­vices Kristie Kem­n­er-Schoen, trau­ma can hap­pen after you expe­ri­ence an event or events that hurt you phys­i­cal­ly or emotionally.

“Trau­ma can impact one’s men­tal health in a vari­ety of ways. Abuse, whether phys­i­cal, emo­tion­al, ver­bal, or sex­u­al, can have long-term effects on your men­tal health,” she noted.

Expe­ri­enc­ing abuse or oth­er trau­ma can put you at risk of devel­op­ing men­tal health con­di­tions, such as anx­i­ety dis­or­ders, depres­sion, post-trau­mat­ic stress dis­or­der, exces­sive sub­stance and drug use, and bor­der­line per­son­al­i­ty disorder.

“It is impor­tant to know that we all react to trau­ma in dif­fer­ent ways,” she said. ​“We all may expe­ri­ence vary­ing degrees of phys­i­cal and emo­tion­al reactions.”

These reac­tions could include any or all of the fol­low­ing: shock, denial, or dis­be­lief; con­fu­sion; dif­fi­cul­ty with focus and con­cen­tra­tion; anx­i­ety and fear; guilt, shame, and self-blame; with­draw­ing from oth­ers; feel­ings of sad­ness and hope­less­ness; feel­ing dis­con­nect­ed or even numb; and anger or intense rage.

Beyond the men­tal symp­toms, Kem­n­er-Schoen said you may also expe­ri­ence such phys­i­cal symp­toms as insom­nia, fatigue, you are easy to star­tle, con­cen­tra­tion dif­fi­cul­ties, rac­ing heart­beat, agi­ta­tion, aches and pains, and mus­cle tension.

It’s impor­tant to stay aware of your symp­toms and under­stand they may come and go.

“Trau­ma symp­toms typ­i­cal­ly last from a few days to a few months, grad­u­al­ly fad­ing as one process­es the unset­tling event,” she explained. ​“But it is impor­tant to keep in mind that even though you may be feel­ing bet­ter, you could be trou­bled from time to time by mem­o­ries, events, anniver­saries, or even some­thing that may remind you of the trauma.”

Recov­er­ing from trau­ma can take time, and every­one heals at their own pace, but if months have passed and your symp­toms aren’t let­ting up and are affect­ing your home, per­son­al, and/​or work-life you may want to con­sid­er pro­fes­sion­al help from a trau­ma expert.

Kem­n­er-Schoen says you may want to seek pro­fes­sion­al help if you are:

• hav­ing trou­ble func­tion­ing at work or home;

• suf­fer­ing from severe fear, anx­i­ety, or depression;
• unable to form close relationships;
• expe­ri­enc­ing ter­ri­fy­ing mem­o­ries, night­mares, or flashbacks;
• avoid­ing more and more things that remind you of the trauma;
• feel­ing emo­tion­al­ly numb and dis­con­nect­ed from oth­ers; and/​or
• using alco­hol or drugs to feel better.

For more infor­ma­tion about Behav­ioral Health Ser­vices at QMG, vis­it quin​cymed​group​.com or call 217−222−6550, ext. 3418.