PTSD/Trauma

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A key step in healing from trauma is recognizing the challenges you face in life and how they might connect to past experiences. While not every issue stems from trauma, some do in ways you might not expect. Trauma often hides in nonverbal memories, stored in a different part of the brain than regular chronological memories. These can show up as hazy images, certain smells, physical aches, nightmares, or escape behaviors like addiction. You might avoid certain situations, or find that colors or sounds trigger strong emotional reactions that feel out of proportion. Left untreated, trauma tends to surface over time, becoming more disruptive. Suppressing these symptoms can be exhausting, and the emotions may grow overwhelming, sometimes leaving a person feeling withdrawn and stuck.

 During trauma, your nervous system goes into hyperdrive, releasing stress hormones such as cortisol. These hormones prepare you for action, like running away or fighting. If you aren’t able to run or fight, then you head for other defenses like freezing in place so you might not be seen, or playing dead. Then later, after the cognitive part of the brain comes back, and you experience triggers (such as an image, smell, or sound), your nervous system reacts as if it’s back in the past trauma!
The faithful Amygdala (the internal emergency system) fires off, and the cortisol/adrenaline rush hits.  The hypervigilance reigns, jumping in once again to help you survive another day! The wave hits, and you get overwhelmed by emotion,s going from hyperarousal to hypoarousal (depressive symptoms).  The good news?  If you’re experiencing a number of the symptoms above, there is real help and hope!  You may decide to take action today, tomorrow, or next week. Either way, you will be choosing to be ready and seek therapy. 

 Surviving a traumatic experience(s) has nothing to do with "not being strong enough" to suppress problematic symptoms!  Dr David Grand has helped individuals understand this principle with the analogy of surfing.  Simply stated, you can either ride the wave or get pounded into the reef.  Trauma is subjective to the individual who experiences a particular event.  For example, two individuals may experience the same event; one comes away unscathed, and the other has recurring nightmares. 
Why does this happen? Is it because the person is a wimp?  NOT AT ALL! 
Trauma stores in the brain through the body, physically in the spine and brainstem, and emotionally in the limbic system. 
During the traumatic event, when the sympathetic part of the limbic system activates, dumping noradrenaline into the body to do whatever it takes to survive.  During this activation, all non-essential systems for survival of the moment are shut down, which includes the logic and reasoning part of the brain.  This creates a problem because what was experienced is remembered physically and emotionally.  That is why trauma has symptoms rather than being memory-based.
​The implicit memory that occurs during the trauma creates an underlying procedural memory system(s) that make sense at the time, but can become maladaptive to living when the threat no longer exists. (Dr. Janina Fisher, 2011)

 Simple stress responses can resolve themselves without having long-term effects. ​Acute stress disorder is normally symptomatic and can last up to 6 months (DSM-5 TR)anything lasting over six months can be diagnosed as PTSD. ​Complex PTSD is caused by multiple events of trauma, even if they are unrelated, since the brain processes are the same. ​There is also what Dr David Grand has called Extreme PTSD, also known as Chronic PTSD, which occurs when trauma has occurred multiple times from early childhood through adulthood. In these cases, individuals can develop dissociative processes that can vary, depending upon the extent and duration of traumatic experiences. ​Here is a ready resource for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Resources booklet from Veterans Families United. The booklet has a personal account of Spc. Joe Collins, USAR, who served in Iraq from 03-04.  You may choose to read his entire booklet, which is downloadable here.  You may also like to review some video segments of Veterans with PTSD/TBI. Download the PTSD booklet here. View video segments of 3 Veterans who are VFU Board Members, from 3 wars, talking about their experiences with PTSD Because there are presenting symptoms with PTSD that can be diagnosed as other mental health issues, qualified clinicians who understand PTSD are needed.  As a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCPT and CCPT 2) with IATP, I look forward to helping you and your family.  

There is help and hope, ​David I Copeland, PhD, LMHC. 

Disclaimer: GHP does not guarantee results or outcomes of the information provided in any of its materials.