Recognizing symptoms is the first step to managing them.
The term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, has evolved since it first emerged in 1980 to describe the effects of combat on members of the military. Today, PTSD is part of our everyday cultural vernacular, and we recognize that traumatic experiences can take shape in infinite ways. Yet, despite our more expansive purview of trauma, much about PTSD is still misunderstood—especially the 17 symptoms of PTSD.
Research indicates that 6 out of every 100 adults will experience PTSD in their lifetime. Though, not everyone will seek care for their symptoms. Some may not even realize that the mental and physical symptoms they experience following a traumatic event or series of events is actually PTSD.
Mental and Physical Manifestations
Because PTSD is a mental health condition, we mostly associate the condition with mental symptoms, like flashbacks. But in reality, symptoms can surface mentally and physically.
The stress of trauma manifests differently from person-to-person, but clinical experts have determined a list of the overarching symptoms that commonly occur. And experiencing one or a combination of these symptoms for longer than one month indicates that it may be time to explore treatment options.
We should note that the list below is by no means finite or exhaustive. We are still learning more about the effects of trauma and how it surfaces physically and emotionally. If you have experienced post-trauma symptoms that are not included in this list, it does not mean that you aren’t experiencing post-trauma stress. In these cases we always recommend discussing your symptoms with your primary doctor or a mental health professional.
What are the 17 Symptoms of Complex PTSD?
Mood Swings
Trauma can disrupt the brain’s emotional regulation processes, making it more difficult to manage temperament—especially under stress or following an unexpected occurrence. Though mood swings may look different from person to person, they typically involve rapid and intense shifts from calm and content to irritable and sad.
Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are categorized as sudden episodes of intense fear and a visceral reminder of a traumatic event. The sense of emotional panic, or feeling like you are in dange, is typically accompanied by physical symptoms like heart palpitations, shallow breathing, shaking, sweating, nausea and dizziness.
Nightmares
These vivid and distressing dreams may replay specific trauma events or allusions to those events. Not only do recurring nightmares lead to sleep disturbances at night, but they can also increase anxiety and fatigue during the day from fear of going to sleep at night.
Sleep Disturbances
In addition to recurring nightmares interrupting sleep, intrusive thoughts related to a traumatic event can also disrupt your sleep patterns. Lack of sleep at night tends to make feelings of agitation, paranoia, and anxiety worse during the day.
Paranoia
Paranoia refers to constant or exaggerated suspicions related to a traumatic event. People struggling with this trauma response often believe that others are trying to cause them physical or emotional harm, which may lead to social withdrawal and isolation.
Depression
Depression refers to a constant sense of sadness or hopelessness with some people describing it as a state of emotional numbness.
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is often linked to PTSD because people in the throes of a trauma response may turn to drugs or alcohol to numb any feelings of stress or depression. Research indicates a high correlation between PTSD and substance abuse, with as many as 44.6% of people with lifetime PTSD meeting the criteria for alcohol use disorder.
Difficulty Concentrating
Issues with concentration commonly surface after a traumatic experience. An endless cycle of negative thoughts and/or paranoia make it difficult to focus on the present moment.
Flashbacks
Flashbacks refer to the sudden and involuntary feeling of reliving a trauma. Like watching a tape that you can’t turn off, these flashbacks can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours and cause intense distress.
Hypervigilance
Similar to paranoia, hypervigilance refers to a state of being perpetually on edge and suspicious of physical threats. People with hypervigilance often over-respond to the smallest movements, sounds, or stimuli around them.
Headaches
The stress of living with PTSD creates tension that can lead to headaches or exacerbate migraine pain.
Suicidal Ideation
Studies indicate a higher correlation of suicide thoughts among people living with PTSD. Other PTSD symptoms like depression, paranoia, and substance abuse may contribute to ideation or attempts at self harm.
*If you know someone who is having thoughts of self-harm, please call or text the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, which is available 24 hours a day. This free and confidential resource offers immediate resources for navigating a crisis.
Memory Loss
It is common to experience memory loss or dissociative amnesia following a traumatic event. Some research suggests that memory loss may stem from changes to the size of the hippocampus (the area of the brain responsible for memory and emotion).
Shakiness
A hyperactive fight-or-flight response state can trigger physical symptoms like tremors. This typically occurs when the nervous system continuously perceives threats and increases cortisol and adrenaline levels.
Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors
The intrusive thoughts and constant anxiety from PTSD can activate behaviors that are obsessive or compulsive in nature, like counting or ritualized habit loops that serve to create a feeling of re-gained control.
Anxiety
Exposure to trauma often brings about excessive worrying accompanied by intrusive and obsessive thoughts and physical symptoms, like rapid heartbeat and sweating.
Agitation
Agitation can seem like the physical manifestation of anxiety. Often people in an agitated state exhibit restless and fidgety behavior. This symptom may also refer to a general sense of irritability toward other people.
Treating the 17 Symptoms of PTSD with Interventions
Historically, PTSD treatments have focused on the more emotional symptoms of trauma, like flashbacks, paranoia and nightmares. But we know that the physical symptoms can be just as disruptive. Which is why in recent years the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) have gained traction among practitioners as an effective complex trauma treatment. The SGB temporarily blocks signals to the brain’s fear center and reduces the production of stress hormones, giving the brain a chance to reset back to its baseline, pre-stress state.
There is no right way to treat PTSD, but the more treatment protocols we can offer patients, the better chance we have of restoring their quality of life.
