The Truth About PTSD, And The Myths We Need To Shut Down
PTS and PTSD are two commonly misunderstood mental health conditions. Many people believe they are something only a war veteran can experience. And while our military personnel do encompass a large number of people who suffer from PTSD, there are many factors beyond war trauma that can lead to either condition.
About two years ago, I was dealing with post-traumatic stress that hindered my performance at work. When a client noticed I wasn’t my usual self, I said I was dealing with PTS. His response: “I didn’t know you were a vet”.
I might have been upset at this comment if I wasn’t blinded by the sheer ignorance that came with it. But it wasn’t this well-meaning person’s fault. His lack of understanding about PTS and PTSD was just a representation of the fact that mental health isn’t spoken of or understood nearly as much as it should be.
It’s time for that to change.
The Truth About PTSD
PSTD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is the extent of what many people know about it. Though many cases previously labeled as a disorder are now being referred to simply as PTS, or post-traumatic stress (sometimes referred to as PTSS, or post-traumatic stress syndrome). The difference being, per brainline.org, that both are common after a traumatic event but PTS usually resolves within a month. While PTSD is actually a disorder (hence the “D”) that lasts far longer and disrupts a person’s daily life for a long period of time.
Both PTS (or PTSS) and PTSD have similar characteristics, including reliving traumatic experiences, avoiding things that remind you of a traumatic event, or feeling constantly anxious and edgy. What distinguishes the two is usually the intensity of the symptoms and how long they last. Additionally, PTS usually resolves on its own but PTSD often needs medical intervention to see improvement.
Talkspace.com does an excellent job of elaborating on the differences between the syndrome and the disorder, if you wish to delve in further.
The Lies About PTSD
For years Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was associated only with those who have been in battle in the military. But the truth is that both the disorder and the syndrome, according to the National Health Service, can develop after any traumatic event. Including a serious car accident, physical or sexual assault, childhood abuse or domestic violence, serious health problems, losing a child in childbirth, or the death of someone close to you.
Even knowing about a loved one’s trauma can trigger PTSD in someone, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And both the syndrome and the disorder can develop at any age.
What Post-Traumatic Stress Feels Like
Like with any mental health condition, both forms of post-traumatic stress will manifest differently in different people. This is my experience with post-traumatic stress.
I was abandoned, practically overnight, by a friend who had been a daily part of mine and my daughter’s life for a long time. He was there almost every single day for three years and then one day just vanished without warning that it was coming. This might have been just a sad disappointment for many people. Coupled with unresolved abandonment trauma from past, however, it was enough to send me into post-traumatic stress.
The Sympathetic And Parasympathetic Nervous Systems
During a frightening experience, the human brain produces stress hormones, like adrenaline, in order to trigger the “fight-or-flight” reaction in the body, nhs.uk explains. The part of the nervous system that carries the “fight-or-flight” signals, called the sympathetic nervous system, stimulates glands that result in symptoms like the heartrate rising and increased blood pressure. This response to perceived danger is useful and actually, at times, even essential for our survival.
The part of the nervous system that is responsible for calming our body back down after the “fight-or-flight” response has been activated is called the parasympathetic nervous system. This part of the nervous system triggers the calming hormones that help our bodies relax. For most people, these two nervous systems work in perfect harmony. The one system alerting us to danger, and the other relaxing the body when the danger is gone.
But when the body experiences trauma, it’s a whole other situation.
How Trauma Changes The Way The Nervous System Operates
According to mhs.com, “traumatic events push the nervous system outside its ability to regulate itself.” This means that after the danger is gone, someone experiencing trauma won’t be able to calm themselves like they should. Their parasympathetic nervous system is unable to trigger the relaxation hormones, resulting in the brain and body getting stuck in a constant state of “fight-or-flight”.
For some people, this results in what mhs.com calls getting “stuck in the ‘on’ position”. With the body being perpetually overstimulated, unable to regulate and get back into the calm state. Some people will experience constant anger and irritability in this state. Others will go the opposite direction and experience depression and lethargy. Many will bounce between the two extremes.
In my experience, this looked like almost a month of hyperarousal of my nervous system. Unable to do what the body naturally does when the parasympathetic nervous system is functioning properly: rest-and-digest. For almost a month I couldn’t keep food down, I had digestive issues, and I couldn’t sleep more than a few hours, even with sleeping aids.
I might have been able to cope if it lasted a day or two. But after almost a month of it, I dropped a lot of weight (about 25 pounds) and was severely sleep-deprived and malnourished, which lead to a whole other list of issues. My work started to suffer, my best friend said I was “numb”, my mother tried to check me into a hospital just to get food into me. It was a nightmare that I didn’t know how to get out of.
Anyone Can Experience Post-Traumatic Stress
I was referred to a trauma-informed therapist by concerned friends and I started doing therapy to help me out of the dark I was in. Fortunately, my nervous system eventually regulated and my experience didn’t last me long enough to get a diagnosis of PTSD. But what I experienced was real, intense, and scary. Some days I thought about ending the pain. Other days I didn’t care enough about anything to even try.
The really crappy thing is that my logical brain knew I wasn’t in danger, and even knew that this toxic relationship ending was the best thing that could have happened to me. But the trauma didn’t allow the logical part of my brain to have a say in what was happening. And it didn’t allow my body to relax the way I knew it needed to. The only thing I could do was get up every morning and survive.
So as we continue to talk about mental health awareness, I ask that we all be aware of what PTS/PTSD is and what it isn’t. It isn’t a condition that is reserved for people in the military. It isn’t something someone can just “snap out of”. It’s a physical reaction to perceived danger that someone’s mind can’t override, no matter how badly we want it to.
So the next time someone seems a little “not themselves”, don’t judge. Whether it be one of our brave veterans, or the coworker from the office who’s never been in combat, anyone can be experiencing post-traumatic stress. For a day, a month, or even a lifetime.
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