“I’ll be walking around downtown or talking to friends or driving to work and all of a sudden, I start gagging really hard… I’ve even thrown up a few times from it. “I knew there would be memory loss of the event, but I also developed short-term memory loss and I can’t remember much before the age of 10 now (trauma happened at age 21).” - Nova H.ġ0. It’s like my vocal chords have been tied in a knot, and all I can think about is making myself invisible.” - Ryan G.ĩ. When my brain gets too overloaded, one of the first things to shut down is my ability to speak. My current one is on the fifth week with no relief.” - Andrea G.Ĩ. When I get memory triggers, I also get tension headaches that last for weeks. But my body is so tense I don’t get much if any relief. I got support products for my neck/shoulder and hands/wrist that are supposed to reflect body heat back to the body. Not even when I was visiting a chiropractor and got massage once a week did it help.
#Symptoms of trauma plus#
I haven’t been able to relax my shoulders for 10 plus years. It really helps me relax, because I feel it through my bones, it hurts a little and lets me snap out of my scratching and biting.” - Saraya V.ħ. I try to calm down by tapping on my sternum heavily with my fingertips. “When I’m very stressed I start scratching my head, often bloody, bite my fingers, my lips.
Never at work - only when reaching home - regardless of what I ate that day.” - Lina A.Ħ. “When stressed overtime at work, diarrhea every Friday evening for several hours, then it goes away until the following Friday evening. I even stress sweat in my sleep, which leaves the sheets drenched. “I stress sweat, especially if I’m surrounded by strangers. They can’t take food away from me now, but I’m scared they still will.” - Gabriela C.Ĥ. So whenever I’m stressed or having a breakdown, most of the time I binge eat.
Food was manipulated for a while in my household and was often something that would be taken away if anything bad happened. I usually have to leave before it turns into an anxiety attack.” - Jackie P.ģ.
Just if they’re yelling in a negative way in general. “If anyone starts yelling, I end up uncontrollably crying. It happens when the flashbacks start and I can’t snap myself out if it.” - Ashleigh P.Ģ. Our bodies and minds are very intimately linked, and experiencing any kind of trauma can leave physical “evidence.” To learn some of the ways trauma not only affects your mind - but also your body - we asked people in our mental health community to describe what physical symptoms they experience as a result of a traumatic experience in their lives.ġ. Or maybe you have unexplained pain when you encounter a triggering situation that brings you right back to the traumatic event. Maybe you have trouble touching and being touched by others because of sexual assault. Maybe your body seems to “shut down” when you try to talk about your upbringing. And while we should absolutely acknowledge and validate the ways it can affect someone’s mental health and well-being, we may not realize our bodies can carry trauma in a very physical way as well. When we think of trauma, we often think of the deep emotional scars it can leave.
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