Symptoms you might have…
Trauma symptoms vary in intensity and from person to person. Some common symptoms include:
Mental confusion. You may having trouble thinking clearly, making decisions, concentrating or reading for more than a minute or two. You might feel scattered or mentally numb.
Memory. You may have trouble clearly recalling the traumatic event or events surrounding the traumatic event. Childhood trauma can prevent us from being able to clearly remember any happy childhood memories. Children who are constantly afraid will have trouble with memory.
Physical signs of anxiety. This might be hyper vigilance where you are always checking for signs of danger. Shaking, dizziness, unrelenting muscle tension, unexplained aches or chronic pain, digestive or breathing problems are other possible signs of trauma.
Emotional numbing or emotional extremes. Trauma survivors may be emotionally shut-down, or have trouble identifying or even feeling emotions especially positive emotions such as joy, contentment, excitement, satisfaction or happiness. Emotional extremes can include angry outbursts, fits or rage, losing one’s temper, intense fear and agitation.
If you experience some or all of these signs, it might be helpful to seek counselling and possibly testing for post traumatic stress syndrome. It is also really important to have comprehensive medical care to insure that there is no other medical explanation for what you are going through.
It can be hard to admit that your physical problems might originate from a mental health problem. We are now understanding the role of the vagus nerve and how intricately linked out mental and physical health are. You wouldn’t hesitate to get a broken limb checked out but we are all reluctant to admit a problem with our mental health. It is okay to need help and want to feel better.
