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Trauma is something we all experience in our life, but some people have lived with trauma that is so severe it can change their personality, their behaviour, and even their mental health. But when trauma becomes serious enough to be debilitating, what are the tell-tale signs?
We’ve compiled five signs you’re living with trauma — from the nervous system’s response to chronic stressors to PTSD being a disorder of extremes. Read on below to see if you can relate!
1. You Have Intense Reactions To Triggers
One of the most common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is being triggered by specific sights or sounds that bring back memories of past traumas. For many people, this happens when they hear the wrong word or see the wrong face or whatever it is triggers something in their memory. But some people have become so used to being triggered that they have developed reactions to certain sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and even touch. These are called concomitant dissociation — affects that arise alongside each other. One of them is the feeling of “feeling uncomfortable” in a situation even though they’re not currently threatened. A person with PTSD will also have an intense reaction to the sight of blood.