What does a PTSD relapse look like? (2023)

What is a PTSD relapse?

A relapse is the return of enough symptoms to meet the criteria for diagnosis with PTSD. Though you might not have a full relapse, you may find yourself slipping into old patterns of thought or behavior. You should be aware of the warning signs so that you can intervene early with healthy coping strategies.

A flashback is a vivid experience in which you relive some aspects of a traumatic event or feel as if it is happening right now. This can sometimes be like watching a video of what happened, but flashbacks do not necessarily involve seeing images, or reliving events from start to finish.

Trauma survivors tend to use maladaptive coping strategies, such as avoidance, self-blame and substance use, to cope with distressing memories of their traumatic experiences (Street, Gibson, & Holohan, 2005).

Retraumatization happens when people with PTSD are exposed to people, places, events, situations, or environments that cause them to re-experience past trauma as if it were fresh or new.

Triggers can include sights, sounds, smells, or thoughts that remind you of the traumatic event in some way. Some PTSD triggers are obvious, such as seeing a news report of an assault. Others are less clear. For example, if you were attacked on a sunny day, seeing a bright blue sky might make you upset.

Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event. Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks) Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event. Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.

With PTSD, a trigger is something that brings on memories or reminders of a traumatic event. For example, flashbacks are often prompted by a trigger. The flashback causes you to feel as though you're reliving the traumatic experience (or some parts of it) all over again.

Symptoms of complex PTSD

avoiding situations that remind a person of the trauma. dizziness or nausea when remembering the trauma. hyperarousal, which means being in a continual state of high alert. the belief that the world is a dangerous place.

After the threat has passed

Later on, if you encounter things that remind you of the traumatic event, like a smell that was present when it happened, your amygdala will retrieve that memory and respond strongly — signaling that you are in danger and automatically activating your fight-or-flight system.

Does PTSD ever go away completely?

So, does PTSD ever go away? No, but with effective evidence-based treatment, symptoms can be managed well and can remain dormant for years, even decades. But because the trauma that evokes the symptoms will never go away, there is a possibility for those symptoms to be “triggered” again in the future.

Approximately 80 percent of patients with PTSD have at least one comorbid psychiatric disorder. The most common comorbid disorders include depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and other anxiety disorders.

Persons with complex trauma or PTSD display emotional dysregulation characterized by excessive fear, anxiety, anger, or sadness. These feelings are reactions to a previous severe and often life-threatening traumatic event that is reinitiated.

A trigger might make you feel helpless, panicked, unsafe, and overwhelmed with emotion. You might feel the same things that you felt at the time of the trauma, as though you were reliving the event. The mind perceives triggers as a threat and causes a reaction like fear, panic, or agitation.

Even without a full reworking of the individual's past traumatization, reenactments can be stopped by helping the patient to respond differently in the world through behavioral and cognitive change.

People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people.

Communication pitfalls to avoid

Stop your loved one from talking about their feelings or fears. Offer unsolicited advice or tell your loved one what they “should” do. Blame all of your relationship or family problems on your loved one's PTSD. Invalidate, minimize, or deny your loved one's traumatic experience.

According to recent studies, Emotional Trauma and PTSD do cause both brain and physical damage. Neuropathologists have seen overlapping effects of physical and emotional trauma upon the brain.

Can a word trigger PTSD?

Words: Specific words or combinations of words can cue trauma type symptoms. Media: We live in a media saturated world where we have access to hundreds of different types of media. Watching a news article where someone experiences a similar trauma to our own can trigger symptoms.

People with PTSD may also experience physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, fatigue, muscle tension, nausea, joint pain, headaches, back pain or other types of pain. The person in pain may not realize the connection between their pain and a traumatic event.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) , some make a recovery within 6 months. For others, treatment may last several years. Treatment for PTSD often includes a combination of psychotherapy and medication.

Triggers are anything that might cause a person to recall a traumatic experience they've had. For example, graphic images of violence might be a trigger for some people. Less obvious things, including songs, odors, or even colors, can also be triggers, depending on someone's experience.

Initial reactions to trauma can include exhaustion, confusion, sadness, anxiety, agitation, numbness, dissociation, confusion, physical arousal, and blunted affect. Most responses are normal in that they affect most survivors and are socially acceptable, psychologically effective, and self-limited.

A somatic flashback causes the person to physically re-experience the trauma. It could be pain or discomfort or sensations. That depends a lot on what kind of experiences you have endured. In the case of sexual trauma, somatic flashbacks can bring back feelings of guilt, shame, and disgust.

When you've experienced complex trauma, you may not trust yourself. A person who grows up with a foundation of secure attachment may realize the signs of gaslighting pretty quickly and leave. However, a trauma survivor may be more likely to perceive manipulation as familiar and therefore normal.

During a flashback, you may see an image or a memory of the past. During an emotional flashback, however, there is no visual aspect. The person experiencing the emotional flashback relives emotions created by past trauma. All types of flashbacks may lead to feelings of helplessness or of being in danger.

How can you recognize if someone is having a PTSD flashback?

Inability to make eye contact. Dysregulated, uncontrollable flood of emotions, such as crying, screaming, shaking (panic) Calling out for help, repeatedly saying “no” or trying to run away.

But one of the most pervasive symptoms of PTSD is not directly related to emotions at all: individuals suffering from a stress-related disorder experience cognitive difficulties ranging from memory loss to an impaired ability to learn new things.

An emotional flashback can be triggered by a situation, a circumstance or an event that reminds you exactly what happened to you in childhood. You can feel transported back to those feelings of helplessness and despair, with no safe parental figure around to make it all better.

You may be eligible for disability benefits if you have symptoms related to a traumatic event (the “stressor”) or your experience with the stressor is related to the PTSD symptoms, and you meet all of these requirements.

The primary treatment is psychotherapy, but can also include medication. Combining these treatments can help improve your symptoms by: Teaching you skills to address your symptoms. Helping you think better about yourself, others and the world.

The key players during flashbacks are the amygdala and the hippocampus. The amygdala is responsible for processing emotional information, especially fear-related memories.

If you've been diagnosed with PTSD, chances are you suffer from what are known as secondary conditions. Some examples of conditions secondary to PTSD are sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension, migraines, and erectile dysfunction.

Posttraumatic stress disorder has been linked to various physical health problems. Studies have found that PTSD is often comorbid with cardiovascular, autoimmune, musculoskeletal, digestive, chronic pain and respiratory disorders.

Brain regions that are felt to play an important role in PTSD include hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. Cortisol and norepinephrine are two neurochemical systems that are critical in the stress response (Figure 1.)

What do psychiatrists look for in PTSD?

Criteria for Diagnosis

To receive a diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have at least one re-experiencing symptom, at least three avoidance symptoms, at least two negative alterations in mood and cognition, and at least two hyperarousal symptoms for a minimum of one month.

Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)

Acute stress disorder is very similar to PTSD, but is shorter in duration. ASD symptoms develop immediately after a traumatic event and last three days to one month.

Dissociation-a common feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-involves disruptions in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, and perception of the self and the environment.

Hyperarousal is a core symptom of PTSD, with at least two hyperarousal symptoms being required for a diagnosis. Hyperarousal symptoms include irritability or aggression, risky or destructive behaviour, hypervigilance, heightened startle reaction, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty sleeping.

A person experiencing this disorder frequently engages in unhealthy and involuntary dissociations to escape reality. These disorders can be triggered by reminders of previous trauma, thus leading to memory loss and stress, among other symptoms.

PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not appear until months or years later. They also may come and go over many years.

So, does PTSD ever go away? No, but with effective evidence-based treatment, symptoms can be managed well and can remain dormant for years, even decades. But because the trauma that evokes the symptoms will never go away, there is a possibility for those symptoms to be “triggered” again in the future.

While treatment helps reduce the severity of symptoms, there's always a possibility they may return. So if you're wondering, “Can PTSD come back after treatment?” the answer is yes, but hope remains alive and well with proper management and support.

Age regression may be a symptom of a mental health condition, such as dissociative identity disorder or PTSD. Age regression can also be used a therapeutic technique, though it's a controversial practice. A mental health professional can help you return to a time in your life when you were abused or experienced trauma.

What does re traumatization feel like?

It's common for retraumatized people to feel a loss of safety and security, which can put you on edge and sap some of the enjoyment out of life. This can lead to depressive disorders and a feeling of hopelessness. Feelings of fatalism, cynicism, and a loss of enthusiasm for life might develop.

The Long-Term Reconstruction Stage

The name makes it clear that the reconstruction phase of PTSD is when the person is coping with the personal aftermath of the incident. When a person moves into this phase, they may experience feelings of fear, extreme sadness, and resentment. They may also worry about their future.

‌People who experience trauma may feel its effects for days. If the symptoms last weeks or longer, and if they disrupt your life, you may have PTSD. See a trained mental health professional if you're worried that you might have PTSD. Symptoms of PTSD usually fall into three categories.

Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event. Difficulty maintaining close relationships. Feeling detached from family and friends. Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed.

PTSD symptoms can cause a person to act in ways that may be hard for family members to understand. Their behavior may appear erratic and strange or be upsetting.

Signs of PTSD of Abandonment

Fear of being left behind or abandoned. Inability to form healthy relationships in the teenage or adult years. Low self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. Anxiety and insecurity.

Posttraumatic stress disorder after the intense stress is a risk of development enduring personality changes with serious individual and social consequences.