Acute & post traumatic stress symptoms

Post traumatic stress sympotms often occurs when we directly experience, witness, learn of, or repeatedly expose ourselves to details of traumatic or overwhelming situations that lead us to feel powerless and or extremely hopeless

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Those suffering from post traumatic stress symptoms may experience the following

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• Recurring and distressing memories or dreams

• Intrusive and distressing memories about the difficult experience

• Poor sleep

• An intense re-experiencing of the past trauma in the present

• Fear of situations or objects  that remind him or her of the trauma

• Physiological reactions such as sweating, heart palpitations, dizziness, hot or cold sensations, out of body experience, numbness etc

• Avoidance of memories, thoughts and feelings that remind him or her of the trauma

• Memory problems and/or difficulties remembering details about the trauma

• Problems with concentration

• Negative outlook on people and/or the world in general

• Self-blame regarding the trauma

• Irritable or angry outbursts towards others or objects

• Reckless or self-destructive behavior

• Hyper-vigilance

• Exaggerated startle response (fight/flight response)

• Persistent negative emotions (e.g. fear, horror, anger, guilt etc.)

• Difficulty with regards to experiencing positive emotions

• Loss of interest or participation in activities (e.g. happiness, satisfaction etc.)

• Feelings of being detached or distant from others  

• Hyper arousal/anxiety/stress