Are you lashing out at your spouse over every little thing? Are you feeling extra sensitive to critiques that are directed at you? Or is your significant other more irritable these days? Are you—or they—just being a jerk, or is something else coming between you? Science is pointing to COVID-19 as a possible culprit.
As if the list of COVID fallout consequences wasn’t already long enough, you can now add breakups, divorces, and relationship troubles. Being infected with COVID can wreak havoc with your love life or sour your relationships with your family and friends. However, people are largely unaware that lingering impacts of the infection could be the cause of friction in relationships.
People are largely unaware that lingering impacts of COVID-19 could be the cause of friction in relationships.
Emerging research shows that people who have had COVID, even mild cases of the infection, are at risk for lingering mental health issues. Anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and sleep disturbances have all been noted among other psychiatric symptoms. All of these issues can have a negative impact on relationships.
Anxiety
When long COVID causes anxiousness it makes it hard for people to relax. It is also associated with being more sensitive to criticism as well as being more clingy and needy. People with anxiety are often conflict-avoidant, which means they may let small issues fester until they become insurmountable problems.
Relationship enhancers: If you are experiencing anxiety due to COVID, consider psychotherapy and anxiety-reduction strategies such as meditation and deep breathing. If a loved one is feeling anxious, take extra care to help them feel safe, valued, and loved. Find ways to help them relax—a shoulder rub, calming music, or time alone with a good book.
Depression
When people feel depressed after a bout with COVID, it can affect everyone around them. In relationships, they may focus on a loved one’s flaws, drag others down with their negativity, or hole up at home rather than going out to socialize. They also tend to take things the wrong way, so innocuous comments by a significant other can lead to misunderstandings or fights.
Relationship enhancers: Bright light therapy and supplements containing saffron can promote a more positive mood so you can both feel happier.
OCD
Long COVID symptoms associated with OCD include a need to have everything in its place, performing rituals (such as excessive hand washing), and having obsessive thoughts. These thoughts may center on worries that their partner no longer loves them, fears that there is something wrong in the relationship or doubts that the significant other is the right person. OCD can get in the way of a healthy sex life as people may have obsessions related to their partner’s hygiene or unwanted, disturbing sexual thoughts.
Relationship enhancers: Physical activity and complex carbohydrates boost serotonin production, which promotes better cognitive flexibility, can help.
PTSD
Having PTSD can make it hard to connect on an emotional level with others. Some people experiencing PTSD as a symptom of long COVID may clam up when uncomfortable feelings arise, essentially cutting themselves off from their loved ones. Intimacy can also be challenging for these people as they may feel emotionally detached.
Relationship enhancers: There is hope for people suffering from PTSD after COVID. Psychotherapy, as well as a therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), can be helpful. Becoming aware of what triggers stressful feelings and using stress-relief techniques (such as deep-breathing exercises) can also promote relaxation and more openness to connecting with loved ones on an emotional level.
Sleep Disturbances
A lack of adequate sleep can make anyone feel irritated, foggy, and stressed. It’s like a recipe for unhappy relationships. People who aren’t sleeping well in the weeks or months following infection with COVID may be more likely to snap at others, forget appointments, or space out during conversations. In addition, when you aren’t well-rested it’s hard to feel sexy, which can drive a wedge between partners.
Relationship enhancers: Adopt a sleep hygiene routine to help establish better habits. Go to bed and get up at the same time each day, skip daytime naps, and keep your room cool.
COVID AND THE EMOTIONAL BRAIN
Brain imaging studies show that having COVID, even if it is a mild case, can promote inflammation in the brain. In particular, it appears to impact the emotional centers of the brain, leading to overactivity in these areas. Too much activity here is associated with issues like depression, anxiety, and negativity, which helps explain why some people are experiencing these symptoms after recovering from COVID.
Anxiety, depression, and other effects of long COVID can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. While there is more awareness than ever before about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health professionals and researchers are still discovering its long-term effects on the brain and body. In 2010, researchers began taking note of a greater risk of dementia in war veterans with PTSD when a study showed they had double the risk than veterans without PTSD. Today, researchers are seeing the correlation between PTSD and dementia, even in the general population. The connection between dementia and PTSD serves to underscore the importance of recognizing PTSD and getting proper treatment as early as possible.
People with PTSD face a 61% higher risk of dementia. The connection between dementia and PTSD serves to underscore the importance of recognizing PTSD and getting proper treatment as early as possible.
Approximately 3.5% of U.S. adults suffer from PTSD, and an estimated 1 in 11 will be diagnosed with the condition at some point during their lifetime. Although most people think the condition primarily affects military veterans or first responders, it can affect virtually anyone—any nationality, occupation, or ethnicity—adult or child.
There are two types of diagnoses given to people based on symptoms that stem from significant emotional and/or physical trauma: PTSD and complex PTSD (CPTSD).
PTSD may develop after a single traumatic event that is life-threatening (even if it is just perceived to be) in the person who experiences it. Most of us are familiar with these traumatic events;
Military combat
Being in a destructive natural disaster
Sexual assault
Being held at gunpoint during a robbery
However, what has received more attention in recent years is Complex PTSD. It evolves from prolonged trauma that goes on for months or years and from which rescue or escape seems impossible. Examples of CPTSD are childhood sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, as well as neglect, and related maltreatment.
Symptoms of PTSD include the following:
Recurrent and upsetting thoughts of a past traumatic event (being molested, accident, fire, etc.)
A sense of panic or fear of events that resemble an upsetting past event
Efforts spent avoiding thoughts or feelings associated with a past trauma
Persistent avoidance of activities/situations which cause remembrance of upsetting event
Inability to recall an important aspect of a past upsetting event
Marked decreased interest in important activities
Feeling detached or distant from others
Feeling numb or restricted in your feelings
Feeling that your future is shortened
Quick startle
Feeling like you’re always watching for bad things to happen
Marked physical response to events that remind you of a past upsetting event, i.e., sweating when getting in a car if you had been in a car accident
If you identify with 4 or more of them, it’s a good idea to get a consultation with a mental health professional. Sufferers of PTSD are more likely to engage in self-destructive behavior such as drinking too much or driving too fast. They are also more vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
PTSD AND DEMENTIA: WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS
A fascinating study published in January 2020 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry revealed a bidirectional relationship between PTSD and dementia. It reviewed 25 articles and found that PTSD in mid-life increased the risk for late-life dementia. Similarly, it found that having Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia later in life was associated with a greater risk of delayed development of PTSD or a worsening of symptoms related to the condition.
Additionally, a diverse 2020 meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Psychiatry analyzed findings from 13 studies conducted on 4 continents, including data from nearly 1.7 million people, including war veterans and the general population. It found that PTSD was associated with a significant risk for all-cause dementia. Specifically, the researchers found that people with PTSD faced a 61% higher risk of dementia.
Interestingly, PTSD was higher in the general population compared to veterans. The researchers attributed this discrepancy potentially to greater awareness and treatment for PTSD among war veterans.
The researchers were unclear about how PTSD raises dementia risk. However, they hypothesized that hypervigilance and recurrent re-experiencing of trauma might engage stress-response activity in the brain, and withdrawal from socializing could negatively impact cognition and resilience.
5 STRATEGIES TO HELP HEAL PTSD
These newer studies confirm that PTSD is a strong risk factor for dementia. If you’ve experienced trauma or could identify with more than 4 of the PTSD symptoms above, don’t worry as you can heal and protect your brain. By addressing your PTSD now and adopting a brain healthy lifestyle, you’ll increase the chances of maintaining your memory and cognition as you grow older.
Here are 5 strategies for healing from PTSD and Complex PTSD.
1. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy
EMDR therapy is a special psychotherapeutic technique that has been shown in studies to be an effective treatment for people who have been emotionally traumatized. It is believed that traumatic events can prevent the brain from processing information as it normally does, which results in these events getting “stuck” in the brain’s information processing center. EMDR therapy uses eye movements or other alternate hemisphere stimulation to remove the emotional charges of these “stuck” traumatic memories. Researchers believe the therapy activates mechanisms in the brain that help you process memory and distressing emotions.
2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Developed in the 1990s, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be effective for kids, adolescents, and adults who have experienced trauma. This therapy aims to help trauma survivors overcome anxiety, depression, anger, self-harm, and more. It helps a person change unhelpful patterns of thinking, behavior, and emotions.
3. Meditation
Do not underestimate the healing power of meditation, specifically Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM). Research has shown many benefits from LKM, which focuses on developing feelings of goodwill, kindness, and warmth toward others. Reducing symptoms of PTSD and depression, as well as increasing positive feelings are just some of the many benefits researchers, have noted.
4. Brain-Healthy Habits
Brain-healthy habits mean eliminating lifestyle factors that harm your brain while increasing activities that boost your brain health. For example, drugs, alcohol, brain injuries, obesity, sleep apnea, hypertension, smoking, too much sugar, and unhealthy fats are all examples of what hurts your brain. Eating colorful fruits and vegetables rich in polyphenols and good-for-you fats found in avocados and walnuts helps to protect your brain. Getting regular exercise, keeping stress levels down, enjoying 7-9 hours of sleep a night, and engaging in brain-healthy activities are also all good for your brain.
5. Supplements and Medication
Taking nutritional supplements like fish oil can be beneficial for overall brain health. In some cases, medication may be helpful, especially when used in conjunction with other therapies.
Taking any of these measures to heal from PTSD will not only help protect your memory from decline later in life, but it will also benefit your brain health, your body, and your overall well-being right now.
PTSD, dementia, and memory issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. We clearly see the physical attributes we receive from previous generations, like hair or eye color, but there’s so much more we inherit that we don’t see—including our family’s emotional history. Your parents’ or grandparents’ anxieties, fears, prejudices, phobias, and more, often become yours too, passed down through behaviors, cultural expectations, and even your genes.
For those who have never experienced trauma firsthand, yet suffer from inexplicable symptoms of PTSD and other mental health issues, it can be a great relief to learn that generational trauma may be the source.
In the same way previous generations pass on genetic characteristics to you, research shows that they also pass along “acquired” or epigenetic characteristics born out of emotionally charged, traumatic experiences. It’s called generational trauma (or ancestral trauma), and it can be a powerful influence in your life as it can increase your vulnerability to a number of mental health conditions.
For those who have never experienced trauma firsthand, yet suffer from inexplicable symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other mental health issues—such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, dissociation, hypervigilance, shame, guilt, and more—it can be a great relief to learn that ancestral trauma may be the source.
UNDERSTANDING GENERATIONAL TRAUMA
Generational trauma may begin with a traumatic event affecting an individual, or a traumatic event(s) affecting multiple family members, or collective trauma affecting the larger community, cultural, racial, ethnic, or other groups/populations (known as a historical trauma). While ancestral trauma has the potential to affect us all, those at the greatest risk are in families and groups that have experienced significant forms of abuse, neglect, torture, oppression, and racial disparities. It’s common in the progeny of war refugees and victims of enslavement, genocide, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and extreme poverty.
Researchers first noted generational trauma in the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the Holocaust. Findings from a study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research show that children and grandchildren of survivors are at higher risk of anxiety disorders and PTSD. Another study in the American Journal of Psychotherapy found that among referrals to a child psychiatry clinic, grandchildren of Holocaust survivors were overrepresented by 300% compared to their peers. Research has shown similar effects in the descendants of many other historical traumas. That’s not surprising since children of a parent struggling with PTSD are 3 times more likely to have PTSD themselves.
Generational trauma is also present in families where there has been significant emotional trauma such as divorce, tragic accidents or losses, abandonment, parental incarceration, substance abuse, a death by suicide, or early death of a family member. These traumas have lasting consequences. For example, with early death, the nervous system can be so deeply impacted that it changes the nature of family members’ genes, which can affect offspring for generations.
Negative parenting behavior can be a source of trauma as well. When parents have unresolved trauma, their parenting can be negatively impacted by depression, substance abuse, mental illness, and other conditions. They can become less attuned as parents and model negative coping skills. They may even become perpetrators of their own trauma; sexual abuse is often repeated in families for generations.
Ancestral trauma has been shown to affect the brain. A large 2019 study found that the children of parents with depression had smaller volume in the pleasure centers of their brain, which placed them at risk of developing depression themselves.
STOPPING GENERATIONAL TRAUMA
The great news is that ancestral trauma can be stopped, but it will not go away on its own. Families can make resilience their new legacy by actively seeking to address the trauma. Building resilience through open and loving communication between generations is one of the best ways to loosen generational trauma’s grip. Healing happens when family members speak up and work through any hurt, pain, or abuse from the past.
If you are a parent, mental health experts suggest that you seek your own support and share your trauma openly with your children and possibly your grandchildren too. Tell them your story and whatever you know about what happened to your parents and your grandparents.
If you are an adult child of parents or grandparents who may have trauma, ask them about their experiences. Find out as much as you can about your ancestry. Notice any automatic patterns, beliefs, or narratives from your family that you continue to portray. Talk through them with a trusted friend, family member, or therapist and consider new ways of being and communicating. Start creating a future for yourself without the pain of inherited trauma.
Innovative therapies can be very helpful in resolving generational trauma. For example, somatic therapy is a type of trauma therapy that involves paying close attention to your inner body sensations as a way to regulate emotions. Also, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy can be a very powerful treatment for people who have been emotionally traumatized. It uses eye movements or other alternate hemisphere stimulation to remove the emotional charges of traumatic memories.
If you suspect generational trauma may be affecting you, reach out to a qualified mental health professional for help. The anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues you experience may not be all yours.
Generational trauma and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. If you have anxiety or experience panic attacks, you probably think it’s all in your mind. If you’re like most people, you likely assume it’s psychological or emotional issues that are causing the problem. In many cases, however, the root cause lies in the biology of your brain. Head trauma—even mild head injuries that don’t make you lose consciousness and aren’t diagnosed as a concussion—are a major factor in the development of psychiatric illnesses, including anxiety disorders and panic disorder.
Head trauma—even mild head injuries that don’t make you lose consciousness and aren’t diagnosed as a concussion—are a major factor in the development of psychiatric illnesses, including anxiety disorders and panic disorder.
Having multiple head injuries puts you at increased risk. Just ask Tyler Fernengel, a professional BMX rider who has had over 20 concussions during his extreme biking career. In one of those accidents, the 25-year-old’s bike broke in half and he did a face plant, damaging his orbital socket and cheekbone. Although the visible harm to his face healed, other internal, psychological issues worsened.
“The main issue is severe anxiety,” Fernengel says to Amen Clinics naturopath Dr. Kabran Chapek in an episode of Scan My Brain. “The absolute worst and hardest thing I had to go through,” the pro BMX rider says, happened when he was mid-conversation with some friends. “Out of nowhere, I couldn’t remember what I was trying to say. I went into a full-body panic.” He says it was like an out-of-body experience, something psychiatrists call depersonalization or dissociation.
Could it be related to all those crashes he experienced? And could your anxiety, panic attacks, and other issues be associated with head injuries from your past? Consider that brain SPECT imaging, which measures blood flow and activity in the brain, shows that 40% of Amen Clinics patients have prior head trauma. Surprisingly, many of them don’t recall getting hurt.
HIDDEN EFFECTS OF HEAD TRAUMA
When Dr. Chapek showed Fernengel his brain SPECT scan, he pointed out the aftereffects of all those head injuries. A healthy brain SPECT scan shows full, even, symmetrical activity. Fernengel’s, on the contrary, revealed numerous areas of low blood flow, a flattened effect on the frontal lobes, and a scalloping or bumpy appearance that’s associated with exposure to toxins. Dr. Chapek called it “one of the worst brains I’ve seen in a 25-year-old.”
Your brain doesn’t have to be one of the worst, and you don’t have to have sustained 20-plus concussions to experience brain-related conditions like anxiety, panic disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A single head injury or a series of sub-concussive repetitive blows to the head from activities like heading a soccer ball can be enough to create changes in the brain that make you more vulnerable to mental health conditions.
HEALING THE BRAIN AND OVERCOMING ANXIETY AFTER HEAD TRAUMA
In providing a comprehensive treatment plan for Fernengel, Dr. Chapek explained that “when it comes to the brain, it’s seldom one thing.” There are typically multiple factors involved. It’s common for head trauma to be combined with stressful life events, a chaotic upbringing, unhealthy daily habits, and/or substance use—all of which ramp up the likelihood of problems.
Fortunately, decades of neuroscience research show that the brain can change through neuroplasticity. And the Amen Clinics database of over 300,000 brain scans from tens of thousands of patients confirms that even if you’ve been bad to your brain, you can make it better. Here are some tips to help put the brain in a healing environment and calm anxiousness and panic.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy:HBOT is a non-invasive treatment that involves breathing pure oxygen to speed the healing process and can be beneficial in recovering after a concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Avoid toxins: Reduce or eliminate your exposure to toxic mold, alcohol, and drugs to enhance brain health. This includes prescription benzodiazepines, anti-anxiety pills, which SPECT scans show are harmful to the brain.
Breathe: A randomized controlled trial found that alternating between slow, deep breaths and quick breaths lowered anxiety as well as depressive symptoms in people with depression.
Meditate or pray:Research from Johns Hopkins shows that daily 30-minute meditation practice may improve symptoms of anxiety, as well as depression. A study in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine indicated a reduction in anxiety following 6 weekly 1-hour prayer sessions. Meditation can also be helpful during a panic attack because it triggers the body’s relaxation response, which counteracts the fight-or-flight mode experienced during panic attacks.
Supplement your brain: To calm an anxious brain, consider nutritional supplements such as GABA and magnesium. For overall brain health, take omega-3 fatty acids and a full-spectrum multivitamin/mineral.
Anxiety, panic disorder, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has earned a place in the social consciousness due to increased media coverage about the condition. If you’re like most people, you probably think PTSD predominantly affects military veterans. Wrong! Surprisingly, the #1 trigger of PTSD in the U.S. is rape. Statistics from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America shows that 46% of women and 65% of men who are raped will develop the disorder, which affects 7.7 million adult Americans. Other forms of sexual assault—including attempted rape, unwanted physical contact, and childhood sexual abuse—can also increase the risk of developing PTSD.
If you’re like most people, you probably think post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) predominantly affects military veterans. Wrong! Surprisingly, the #1 trigger of PTSD is rape.
Sexual assault is alarmingly common. Every 68 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted, according to RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. And CDC statistics show that over 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience sexual violence in their lifetime. Experts agree that the incidence of sexual assault is likely much higher as many cases go unreported.
The lack of reporting is due, in part, to the stigma attached to being a rape survivor. Victims often feel guilt and shame about the experience, so they keep it to themselves. In some cases, an abuser threatens the victim or their loved ones with physical violence if they tell anyone. In other instances, victims feel hopeless and think that telling someone will do no good. Still, others may fear that speaking up will invite unwarranted scrutiny and victim-blaming.
Sadly, this means that millions of Americans keep rape and other forms of sexual assault a secret and don’t seek help for the distressing psychological consequences they bring.
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND PTSD
Following sexual trauma, it’s common to experience feelings of stress, anger, fear, anxiousness, guilt, and sadness. For most survivors, these feelings subside over time, but in others, they fester into PTSD. The researchers behind the 2020 meta-analysis mentioned earlier suggest that the trauma associated with sexual assault can result in the dysregulation of the body’s stress response system, leading to chronic stress or PTSD.
Sexual assault survivors are more likely to develop PTSD than people who experience other forms of trauma. An epidemiological study of over 4,000 women found that 32% of rape survivors and 31% of sexual assault survivors will have PTSD at some point during their lifetime. Compare that to just 9% of survivors of traumatic events, such as a car accident or natural disaster, that aren’t crime-related.
Brain SPECT imaging, which measures cerebellar blood flow and activity, shows that PTSD is associated with overactivity in the emotional centers of the brain. This overactivity seen on SPECT scans typically looks like a diamond pattern that is also associated with an increased risk of other mental health issues.
OTHER MENTAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF RAPE
PTSD isn’t the only psychological fallout associated with rape and other forms of sexual assault. Being the victim of this form of trauma is also linked to a heightened risk of a range of psychiatric issues, including:
Depression and anxiety.
Take a look at the findings of a 2019 study involving over 300 middle-aged women in JAMA Internal Medicine, for example. In this study, 22% of the participants said they had been sexually assaulted, and the survivors were 3 times as likely to experience symptoms of major depression and twice as likely to have anxiety.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
For some victims, the psychological impact of the incident is so powerful that they begin having suicidal thoughts. A 2020 meta-analysis of dozens of studies with over 88,000 participants found a significantly greater prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among people with a history of sexual assault compared with those who had no such experiences. Specifically, over 27% of sexual assault survivors experienced suicidality compared to just 9% of people with no history of assault.
This analysis confirms earlier research indicating a rise in suicidality following sexual assault. For example, a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry indicates an increased risk of suicide attempts in women with a history of sexual assault. When the sexual trauma occurred before the age of 16, the rate of attempted suicide was 3-4 times higher.
Increased suicide risk also affects teens. Troubling findings in JAMA Pediatrics point to an increased rate of suicide attempts among teenage females who have experienced recent dating violence and males who have been subjected to sexual assault.
Addictions.
A wealth of research indicates that sexual assault and rape increase the risk of developing substance abuse. Experts suggest that sexual assault victims may turn to alcohol or drugs to cope with the psychological distress that typically follows an attack.
Dementia and other brain disorders.
New brain imaging research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that not only does sexual assault impact mental health, but it can also harm brain health. This 2021 study in Brain Imaging and Behavior found that experiencing trauma, and especially sexual assault is associated with greater volumes of white matter hyperintensities (WMH), which are considered neuroimaging markers of dementia, cognitive decline, stroke, and other brain disorders.
OVERCOMING PTSD ASSOCIATED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT
If you’ve endured the trauma of a sexual assault and developed PTSD, it is possible to heal. In order to overcome PTSD related to rape—even if it occurred decades earlier—it’s critical to get a comprehensive assessment. SPECT can help you see if there are changes in blood flow or activity in the brain, such as the diamond pattern, that are typically associated with trauma and PTSD. Determining if you’re also suffering from other mental health issues—such as anxiety, depression, or substance abuse—is another critical part of the process to ensure you get the most targeted and effective treatment plan.
PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Our understanding of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has evolved and broadened since it was first added in 1981 to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook of psychiatric illnesses widely used by clinicians and psychiatrists in the U.S.
Originally, the term trauma and symptoms of PTSD were ascribed only to a life-threatening occurrence such as what a soldier experiences in combat, a first responder in a crisis situation, or a victim of assault or abuse.
It later expanded to other life-threatening occurrences like natural disasters, automobile accidents, and child abuse. Today, researchers are discovering that nonviolent causes, such as emotional trauma or the accumulation of smaller stresses or traumas, can also lead to PTSD or what’s called Complex PTSD.
Researchers are discovering that nonviolent causes, such as emotional trauma or the accumulation of smaller stresses or traumas, can lead to PTSD or what's called Complex PTSD.
According to leading trauma researcher, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, trauma is prevalent and has untold impacts on human health and relationships. In his published article Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Nature of Trauma, he states that the human response to psychological trauma is one of the most important public health problems in the world.
Indeed, the effects of trauma extend beyond psychological functioning. Some childhood traumas have far-reaching health consequences later in life, increasing the risk of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, suicide attempts, risky sexual behavior, and a number of diseases and health issues.
Having a better understanding of the nonviolent forms of trauma is important so that sufferers who need help can find it.
What Is Emotional Trauma?
Emotional trauma can result from any type of overwhelming, traumatic experience or series of distressing events that exceed an individual’s ability to process the emotions involved and cope adequately.
According to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, experiencing a traumatic event can harm a person’s sense of safety, sense of self, and ability to regulate emotions and navigate relationships. Long after the traumatic event occurs, people with trauma can often feel shame, helplessness, powerlessness, and intense fear.
While emotional trauma can result from life-threatening events, it can also stem from situations where no physical harm is involved. That includes incidences of harassment or adverse childhood events such as neglect, verbal abuse, or parental separation.
More nuanced and complex examples of emotional trauma might include relationships with others that have some sort of psychological abuse involved, such as a demeaning boss or controlling romantic partner. Divorce and profoundly humiliating experiences can cause emotional trauma, too.
Trauma From Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs)
Traumas experienced in childhood and their far-reaching PTSD effects have only recently begun to be understood.
In 1995, a landmark study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente sought to identify the extent of ACEs in a group of 17,337 adult participants as well as any potential long-term effects. The participants were surveyed using 8 specific questions that covered neglect, abuse, and household dysfunction—such as witnessing domestic violence. The results were astounding. Nearly 25% of those in the study had been exposed to 3 or more of the 8 ACEs that were being studied at that time.
The fact that the participants were primarily middle-class adults suggests that ACEs can happen in almost any household. Of course, we now understand that chronic poverty, community violence, and racism can also adversely affect a child’s mental and physical health and development.
How Trauma Affects Your Body
Trauma impacts your body in profound and lasting ways, particularly in childhood. The actual traumatic event or series of events triggers the body’s stress response.
When we are faced with a threat (real or perceived), this fight-or-flight system automatically kicks in and releases cortisol and other stress hormones into our brain and body. This causes our heart rate to go up and our muscles are alerted to either potentially run away from whatever could hurt us or to freeze. It is designed to increase our chances of survival.
In normal circumstances, the stress response turns off after the threat passes. However, when there’s trauma, parts of the brain turn off so that we can focus on escape and survival. When this happens, some of the memories about the trauma can get placed in the non-cognitive areas of the brain, such as the sensory system, or in the body. They essentially get hidden away.
With PTSD, the brain fails to process the trauma correctly. It doesn’t file the memory of the event as being in the past. The stress response stays engaged, and the brain stays alert to any potential danger, even when it is safe. Details like sights, sounds, or smells, get attached to the trauma memory, and they can become triggers.
What Are the Signs of PTSD?
There are many signs and symptoms that may indicate PTSD. Sleeplessness, anxiety, irritability, hypervigilance, being easily startled, difficulty concentrating, overwhelming guilt or shame, distressful memories, flashbacks, and nightmares are among the most common. Sufferers of PTSD are more likely to engage in self-destructive behavior such as drinking too much or driving too fast, as well as have suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Dr. Besser van der Kolk’s research article cited above makes note of additional symptoms that treatment-seeking patients experienced as a result of being exposed to a range of different traumatic events over their life span. These include affect dysregulation, aggression against self and others, amnesia and dissociation, somatization, depression, distrust, shame, and self-hatred.
A type of PTSD called Complex PTSD, commonly resulting from prolonged or chronic trauma, may have some of the traditional PTSD symptoms plus a few more. Complex PTSD may include problems with self-esteem, where the sufferers feel responsible for their trauma. Those who suffer childhood trauma from a caregiver (even verbal abuse and neglect) often blame themselves. They also have emotional dysfunction and relationship problems, often staying in unhealthy relationships because the situation is familiar.
How to Recover from Emotional Trauma and PTSD
If you have experienced any kind of trauma as a child or adult or are showing signs of PTSD, reach out to a mental health professional. There are treatments that have been shown to work.
A study published in Biological Psychiatry indicates that cognitive-behavioral therapy may help to reduce symptoms of PTSD, as well as reverses the underlying biology of the disorder within the brain. Additionally, EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), a special psychotherapeutic technique, has been shown in studies to be an effective treatment for people who have been emotionally traumatized.
Trauma, PTSD, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here. If you’ve ever gone through something traumatic, such as childhood abuse or neglect, a natural disaster, a violent assault, a hate crime, or a pandemic, you know that you don’t just shake it off and move on. Trauma has a way of sticking in your brain, seeping into your unconscious mind, and sparking your nervous system. Adverse childhood experiences or traumatic events in adulthood can have a lasting negative impact on your life and can lead to the development of internal “Wounded Dragons.”
In his book Your Brain Is Always Listening, Dr. Daniel Amen writes that these inner “dragons from the past” arise from trauma. They breathe fire on the emotional brain (amygdala), driving anxiety, panic, depression, anger, negative thinking, numbness, and irrational behavior. The Wounded Dragons can take a devastating toll on your emotional well-being as well as on your relationships. In fact, unresolved trauma can create a host of challenges that lead to marital conflict.
Trauma has a way of sticking in your brain, seeping into your unconscious mind, and sparking your nervous system. Unresolved trauma can create a host of challenges that lead to marital conflict.
No matter what type of trauma you have experienced, it can affect your ability to develop and maintain a loving relationship. And if trauma occurs during adulthood, it can negatively impact your marriage. Three of the most common relationship challenges facing people who have lived through trauma include the following.
1. Trust issues
People who have lived through traumatic events often lose their sense of security and safety. It’s common to feel like danger is lurking around every corner, which can make it difficult to trust people, even those you previously trusted. This may cause you to create walls in relationships in an effort to protect yourself from getting hurt. But this can backfire. Shying away from emotional or physical intimacy can make your partner feel left out or unfulfilled and can create a source of tension.
2. Triggered reactions
Anything that remotely reminds you of the past trauma—such as to scents, sights, or sounds—can dredge up painful memories and cause involuntary reactions. Something as seemingly innocuous as hearing a song can trigger a trauma survivor to react with anger, sadness, or anxiousness. You may lash out at your spouse, retreat from them, or tune out mentally. For your romantic partner, this may seem to come out of nowhere. In fact, the reaction may be unconscious and automatic, meaning you may not even realize why you’re behaving this way. It can leave your partner feeling confused, attacked, abandoned, rejected, or unloved, which may lead them to respond in kind. It creates an unhealthy cycle in which arguments and marital conflict become a common occurrence.
3. Fight, flight, or freeze response
When you have unprocessed trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reminders of past trauma may trigger your brain’s stress response. This internal survival mechanism kickstarts whenever you encounter a real or imagined threat. It is due largely to the amygdala, a region deep in the brain that is responsible for our “fight, flight, or freeze” response. This can be a lifesaver if you’re ever chased by an angry bear, but it can be counterproductive if it occurs in everyday situations that your brain erroneously interprets as dangerous. Here’s how these responses can impact your relationship.
Fight: Automatically reacting by screaming at your significant other, picking fights, blaming them for your issues, bringing up past problems, or getting physically abusive can damage the relationship.
Flight: If you automatically run the other way in stressful situations, it can have a detrimental effect on your marriage. Being conflict avoidant or pretending problems don’t exist can cause issues to fester and become insurmountable. In other cases, you may feel the urge to run away from a relationship at the first sign of trouble.
Freeze: In some stressful instances, you may shut down and withdraw from your partner. This can create a disconnect between the two of you that leaves your significant other feeling isolated and unwanted.
3 Ways to Heal Past Trauma and Improve Relationships
Past trauma doesn’t have to get in the way of a happy marriage. Working through the emotional pain of traumatic events can be helpful in preventing or overcoming relationship problems. Some of the most helpful therapies include:
Consider trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). Developed in the 1990s by a trio of professionals, TF-CBT can be effective for children, teenagers, and adults who have experienced trauma. This therapy aims to help trauma survivors overcome anxiety, depression, guilt, anger, powerlessness, self-abuse, and acting out. When you gain greater control over your emotions, it can help you cope more effectively with the normal ups and downs of married life.
Stop ignoring past trauma. It’s normal to experience painful emotions related to past trauma, but many people attempt to block out those emotions. This is counterproductive, as scientific research shows that avoidance increases the risk of psychological issues, such as PTSD, depression, anxiety disorders, and more. When you are struggling, try talking to your significant other rather than shutting them out. Couples therapy may be beneficial in helping you develop or rebuild trust in your relationship, so you feel more comfortable sharing your fears and anxiousness.
Try EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). This helpful form of psychotherapy can minimize the emotional pain associated with trauma. EMDR, which involves moving the eyes from side to side while bringing up traumatic memories, helps remove the emotional charges connected to those memories. Processing traumatic memories with this therapy aids in rewiring and calming the brain, which can help you react in healthier ways to everyday stresses.
When you address past trauma and learn to process it in a healthy way, it provides a path to less stress with your partner and a deeper, more intimate, and more fulfilling relationship.
Past trauma, PTSD, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples.Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. Peer pressure is nothing new, especially among teens and adolescents. The influence peers wield on their social circle has long been associated with driving behavior—both good habits and bad habits. For example, seeing a friend drink, smoke, use drugs, bully others, or binge eat increases the likelihood of engaging in that behavior oneself. Experts call this “social contagion.” Sadly, it also applies to self-harm.
This is especially alarming in light of the dramatic increase in self-injury among teens since the pandemic began. According to an analysis of healthcare claims by FAIR Health, claims for intentional self-harm as a percentage of all medical claims for adolescents aged 13-18 skyrocketed by 99.8% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. Experts suggest the number of teens engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury could continue to increase.
Seeing a friend drink, smoke, use drugs, bully others or binge eat increases the likelihood of engaging in that behavior oneself. Experts call this “social contagion.” Sadly, it also applies to self-harm.
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the act of purposely harming oneself without the intention of taking one’s own life. People who hurt themselves often have a history of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, being bullied, childhood neglect, or sexual assault. They may turn to cutting, skin-picking, burning, or other forms of self-mutilation as a way to numb their emotional pain.
NSSI is most frequently seen in adolescents and young adults. Research in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health indicates that 17% of adolescents report at least one incident of self-harm. That’s higher than the 15% of college students who say they have engaged in self-injury at least once, according to a 2011 study in the Journal of College Health. And it’s more than 3 times higher than 5% of adults reporting self-harm. Approximately 65% of those who engage in NSSI are female, but experts suggest the behavior is likely underreported in males.
STUDY FINDS SELF-HARM IS SOCIALLY CONTAGIOUS
Long-standing research shows that among adolescents, exposure to a peer’s suicidal behaviors raises the chances of dangerous copycat actions. Newer findings in a 2020 Canadian study in Acta Psychiatrica Scandanavica indicate that having knowledge of a friend’s nonsuicidal self-injury is significantly associated with an adolescent’s own involvement with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
In this study, researchers administered the following 3 questions about NSSI and suicidal behavior to 1,483 Canadian adolescents ages 14-17.
In the past 12 months, did any of your friends deliberately harm themselves but not mean to take their life?
Sometimes people deliberately harm themselves but they do not mean to take their life. In the past 12 months, did you ever deliberately harm yourself but not mean to take your life?
In the past 12 months, did you ever seriously consider taking your own life or killing yourself?
Based on the responses, females indicated awareness of a friend’s self-harm at a rate of nearly 3-to-1 compared to males. Compared to boys, girls also reported higher rates of their own engagement in NSSI (girls 11.4%, boys 3.4%), suicidal thoughts (girls 8.5%, boys 4.3%), and suicide attempts (girls 4.8%, boys 2.3%).
SELF-HARM AND MENTAL HEALTH
A wealth of scientific evidence shows that NSSI is associated with other mental health conditions. Among people who engage in self-harm may also struggle with issues such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders, dissociative disorders, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
The team of Canadian researchers also analyzed mental health status and its effect on NSSI, assessing any diagnoses for major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, ADHD, oppositional disorder, or conduct disorder. They found that adolescents who met the criteria for an anxiety disorder or depression were more likely to say they knew a friend who had been involved in self-harming behaviors. Those with some form of anxiety—including certain phobias—ranked highest with 28.6% reporting knowing a friend who engaged in self-injury. Among teens with depression, 20.4% said they knew peers who tried to hurt themselves.
Engaging in NSSI as an adolescent also has detrimental effects on mental health in adulthood, according to findings in a 2020 study in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. In this study, researchers followed students in grades 7-8 for 10 years. Compared to youngsters who did not engage in NSSI, those who repeatedly injured themselves as adolescents exhibited significantly higher rates of anxiety, stress, NSSI, and problems with emotional regulation a decade later.
HELPING TEENS PREVENT OR HEAL FROM SELF-INJURY
Preventing and healing from self-harm is possible. Recognizing that NSSI is socially contagious is an important step in identifying an adolescent’s risk for self-injurious behaviors. Providing teens with strategies to handle peer pressure—for example, saying no like they mean it, disagreeing respectfully, or asking questions—can be beneficial in the prevention of this increasingly common problem. It is equally critical for parents to know the warning signs of self-harm, including scars, frequent cuts or bruises, far-fetched tales about how an injury occurred, wearing long sleeves even in summer, carrying sharp objects, declining academic performance, and social withdrawal.
In addition, addressing any co-occurring mental health issues should be part of an NSSI treatment plan. Investigating brain health with functional brain imaging may also be beneficial as it can reveal underlying abnormal activity. A 2019 brain imaging study found decreased brain function in regions of the brain that play a role in emotional regulation. Finding solutions that enhance overall brain health and emotional well-being is key to overcoming nonsuicidal self-harm.
Self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever, and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834or visit our contact page here. When you have lived through a traumatic situation, your brain has a natural way of preserving the experience in an effort to protect you from future occurrences that could be dangerous. All of us have this built-in survival system. It stems back to our cave-dwelling ancestors in prehistoric times who always needed to be on the alert to avoid becoming the dinner for a large creature, such as a saber-toothed cat.
When we are faced with a threat, this fight-or-flight system automatically kicks in and releases cortisol and other stress hormones into our brain and body. This causes our heart rate to go up and our muscles become primed to run away from whatever could hurt us. All of this is designed to increase our chances of surviving. Once the event passes, the fight-or-flight mechanisms naturally turn off.
What Happens in the Brain During a Traumatic Experience?
While this protective mechanism in our brain is largely a blessing, it can be troublesome for anyone who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), because it doesn’t know when to turn itself off. It’s as though your brain stays attuned to any sense of danger—whether real or imagined. During trauma, parts of your brain go offline in order for you to focus on escape and survival, and because of this, some of the memories about the traumatic experience can get stored in the non-cognitive areas of the brain, like the sensory system (i.e., certain smells, textures, and sights) or in your body.
Do you struggle with any of these unwanted symptoms of PTSD?
1. You panic during thunderstorms or when winds are high.
People who have survived natural disasters, sometimes by the skin of their teeth, have endured very traumatic and life-threatening situations. For example, imagine a family who stayed at home when a big hurricane hit and had to huddle together in the hallway of the house as all the windows blew out while the wind howled for several hours. After surviving a very threatening situation like that, the sounds of uncontrollable weather can understandably be a big trigger, even when there is no actual hurricane (or tornado or other threat) looming.
2. You need to sit near an exit or facing an entrance.
Because of the traumatic experience you had, such as being abused, assaulted, or stalked, you may feel too vulnerable when you cannot see everyone who is in the room. Therefore, you prefer sitting at a table where you can have your back to the wall, or right next to the entrance or exit to accommodate any urge you may get to leave immediately if you feel threatened.
3. You feel a sudden need to use the restroom when a traumatic memory gets triggered.
One of the reasons this could happen is because some of the stress hormones that are secreted by your fight-or-flight system affect your G.I. tract. Going back to prehistoric times again, it’s believed that this function caused our ancestors to expel their bowels to be lighter and increase their chances of escaping from a predator. Unfortunately, this automatic function now can make you feel like you don’t have control over your physical body.
4. You mentally check out in the middle of a conversation.
You’re physically present but feel removed from your mind and/or body and may not have any sense of what the other person is saying. This is known as dissociation and occurs when you get triggered by something that evokes a painful traumatic memory. It’s a coping mechanism that allows you to escape from something that is too difficult to think about. Dissociation is often momentary, but sometimes these episodes can last for a while.
5. You startle easily.
This kind of hypervigilance is common for people who have PTSD. It’s as though an alarm goes off in your head from unanticipated loud noises or movements—even when there’s no actual threat to your safety. Again, this is the result of a fight-or-flight system that has difficulty shutting down.
These symptoms and reactions can be very stressful. When cortisol and other stress hormones are constantly being released into your brain and body, they can lead people to rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as overeating or using alcohol and recreational drugs to feel calmer. Unfortunately, that relief is only short-lived and makes your problems worse.
PTSD Treatment Can Make a Positive Difference
A much more enduring way to get PTSD symptoms under control is by reaching out for professional help. The idea of working through your trauma may feel uncomfortable because it is something you don’t like to talk about. However, there are certain therapies that have been found to be quite successful for trauma survivors and typically involve less talking. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing—also known as EMDR—is one such modality.
By using eye movements or small hand-held devices that alternately stimulate the two hemispheres of your brain, EMDR helps to get the memories “unstuck,” so you can process them from the present, rather than being pulled back into the overwhelming traumatic moments of the past.
With the right treatment, it’s possible to heal from the symptoms of PTSD and work through your trauma so the distressing memories of your past don’t continue to limit and control your future.
PTSD and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens,children, and couplesFind out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.By Rishi Sood, M.D.
Although there is a growing amount of research on and increased awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder, many misconceptions about PTSD persist.
PTSD and its effects on military veterans have been well documented, but other types of trauma are also known to cause the condition. For example, childhood abuse in the form of physical and sexual trauma is known to lead to PTSD. Children exposed to such trauma often struggle with mood regulation and have increased rates of self-destructive and suicidal behavior. PTSD can also occur later in life as a result of medical illnesses—such as myocardial infarctions, obstructive sleep apnea, or stroke—or due to stays in the intensive care unit, which many people have unfortunately experienced because of COVID-19.
Myth #2. PTSD develops immediately after suffering a trauma.
Symptoms of PTSD can occur 3 months after a traumatic experience, but it often occurs much later. Delayed-onset PTSD describes a situation where an individual does not develop symptoms until 6 months after the inciting event. In some cases, individuals experience PTSD years later. In a study of World War II veterans, many reported experiencing such symptoms later in life. This was thought to be brought on by major life changes such as losing a spouse. Just because someone is not affected by a traumatic event soon after does not mean that the individual is immune from being significantly affected many years down the road.
Myth #3. PTSD makes people violent.
Many individuals who experience PTSD do not display violent tendencies. In fact, many individuals with PTSD shut down and avoid situations that pose any perceived threat. This puts significant strain on personal relationships and the ability to effectively function at work. In the dissociative subtype of PTSD depersonalization and derealization are seen. Individuals who experience depersonalization feel disconnected from their body while individuals who experience derealization feel the world around them is not real.
Myth #4. PTSD is just one thing.
Individuals with PTSD can vary significantly in their presentations. As a result of trauma, some individuals can develop externalizing symptoms, which are characterized by symptoms of aggression and impulsivity. To cope, many will turn to substances such as alcohol and marijuana to calm the brain. Unfortunately, this can lead to brain injury and can worsen focus and mood. Others may develop internalizing symptoms, which are characterized by somatic symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Individuals who were once extroverted and had a secure sense of self can become more isolated and distant.
Myth #5. PTSD isn’t treatable.
Although PTSD can have devastating effects, the great news is that effective treatment is available. Psychotherapy can be an effective tool and there are different modalities utilized. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and other trauma-focused therapies can be helpful. In some cases, medications such as SSRIs or SNRIs can provide significant relief. MDMA-assisted therapy in a controlled clinical environment and in the presence of a trained therapy team is also being studied and appears promising.
Dr. Rishi Soodpractices at Amen Clinics, which offers in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Dr. Sood is board certified in Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In addition to his background in psychiatry, he is a board-certified pediatrician. Find out more about our services at AmenClinics.com.
