Focus on: dealing with past trauma

If we suffer trauma, abuse, pain or distress in childhood, we are often powerless to do anything about it. That powerlessness can increase our suffering. If we manage to get away from the situation as we enter adulthood, it doesn’t mean that everything we suffered no longer affects us. What happened may continue to cause problems in our lives by affecting our mental health. The same is true of traumatic experiences in adult life. Just because the distressing situation is behind us, it doesn’t mean that all the damage it created has been mended.

We’re going to look at why it’s important to address past trauma and how to deal with it so that it doesn’t continue to do damage to your life now. It’s never too late to get help.

Dealing with PTSD

PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) is classed as an anxiety disorder caused by very frightening, stressful, painful or distressing events. It’s a recognised mental health condition and can affect anyone exposed to trauma. That includes witnesses to trauma, as well as the person that the trauma happened to.

The symptoms can be severe and have a significant effect on someone’s day-to-day life. In other cases, the person with the condition may feel fine much of the time, but the symptoms can be triggered or seem to come up out of nowhere at intervals. Regardless of the severity of PTSD or how regularly it occurs, it’s important to get help, to stop it from getting worse and to help you move on to a better way of life.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

Symptoms include flashbacks to the events that caused the trauma, nightmares, depression, feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt. You may feel jittery or tense and have difficulty concentrating, even on simple everyday tasks. Some people experience insomnia and panic attacks, while others feel irritable and are prone to angry, aggressive outbursts. Sensitivity to certain sounds is another symptom, as is reckless and self-destructive behaviour.

Some people experience physical symptoms, such as headaches, stomach pains, digestive disorders, dizziness, shortness of breath and chest pain.

What is C-PTSD?

C-PTSD stands for Complex post-traumatic stress disorder. This is when someone has repeatedly experienced traumatic situations. Things like severe neglect, repeated abuse or violence in the home and being forced or manipulated into prostitution, may all be causes for C-PTSD. Being tortured, used in slavery or manipulated into criminal activity can also be factors - these are just some of many possible causes.

According to the NHS, C-PTSD is often more severe if the trauma was experienced early in life, as this can affect a child’s development and impact on how they move into adulthood. Complex PTSD may not appear until years after the events that caused it and this may make sufferers reluctant to seek help. Symptoms of C-PTSD are similar to PTSD but may also include feelings of shame or guilt, relationship difficulties, destructive behaviour such as self-harm, drug and alcohol misuse, and suicidal thoughts.

What is the treatment for PTSD and C-PTSD?

Start by seeing your GP (doctor), as effective treatment is available through the NHS.

The main treatments are psychological therapies and medicines. Psychological therapies include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which aims to change how you think and act. There’s also Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), which allows the person to recall or discuss their traumatic event without having a debilitating reaction. The recommended medical treatments are paroxetine and sertraline, which are types of anti-depressant. Sometimes other medicines will be prescribed. Before any treatment, a detailed assessment will be carried out to make sure that you receive the treatment appropriate to you. This will be done either by your GP or a specialist.

The NHS says: