How Trauma Affects the Brain and Mental Health

A trauma is a shocking and disturbing incident that impacts the brain and affects a person’s mental state. Regardless, of physical or sexual abuse during childhood or war theater involvement or a devastating accident, trauma results in PTSD, anxiety together with depression.

If you are searching for the terms trauma psychiatrists near me or post-traumatic stress disorder doctors, you may be seeking information about treatment of trauma . In this blog, the author presents information about how trauma influences the human brain, typical symptoms and possible ways of coping with this problem.

How Trauma Changes the Brain

Trauma impacts three major regions of the brain that are associated with feelings, recollections, as well as stress.

1. The Amygdala: The Fear Center

✔ The amygdala is also interpreted as being the part of the brain that finds threats and starts programs the reaction “fight or flight”.

 ✔ Trauma may cause the enlargement and hyperactivity of the amygdala resulting in a primal-like response where a person become hypervigilant and prone.

 ✔ Some of the extents of PTSD are; flashbacks, nightmares, or excessive fear.

2. The Hippocampus: Memory Processing

✔ The hippocampus has a role in analysis and storage of memory.

 ✔ There is evidence that trauma results in the reduced size of the hippocampus leading to inability to differentiate between the two.

 ✔ This results in memory loss, confusion and impaired judgment of reality that distinguishes between those that are safe and could be a danger.

3. The Prefrontal Cortex: Emotional Regulation

✔ It is involved in higher thinking and analysis or decision making processes.

 ✔ Trauma also impairs this area, and under this condition the person has poor control of emotions, acts impulsively, and cannot handle stress.

Symptoms of Trauma-Related Mental Health Disorders

While not every person suffering from the trauma is bound to have a disorder, the chronic stress could lead to such state of mental ill health. Here are some common symptoms:

1. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

If you are in the process of searching the “post-traumatic stress disorder doctors” you may experience such PTSD symptoms as:

 ¬ Flashbacks – rewinding to the specific scene and feeling as if one is experiencing the same once again.

 ✔ Nightmares there may be after the disaster, they are scary dreams associated with it.

 ✔ Avoidance – These entails behaviors to keep away from situations, places, persons or things associated with the experience of the traumatic event.

 ✔ Phriky – High level of standing anxiety or nervousness which makes one jumpy, guarded or vigilant.

2. Anxiety and Depression

✔ Persistent sadness, guilt, or hopelessness.

 ✔ Apathy – where the individual shows a decline of interest in activities that he or she used to find enjoyable.

 ✔ Anxiety, for potential issue that may be not relevant in the near future.

3. Dissociation

✔ Having such perceptions as being an ultimate observer of the events taking place in one’s life.

 ✔ Post-trauma amnesia, which is also referred to as ‘loss of time’.

If these symptoms are detected, it is advised to get help from trauma psychiatrists near me for the appropriate treatment.

How to Heal from Trauma

It was reassuring for me to hear that healing can be possible even when dealing with trauma because it is evident that it is not easy to recover from these mental issues. These are some of the good methods of treatment;

1. Therapy for Trauma Recovery

✔ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – It deals with replacing negative attitudes and finding ways of handling the stress.

 ✔ Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) – This involves the use of eye movements for processing and re-evaluation of traumatic information.

 ✔ Exposure – Gradual exposure of the patient to the trauma stimuli in a controlled setting with an aim of reducing fear.

2. Psychiatric Support

✔ If it has to do with the PTSD, sometimes, depending on the severity of symptoms, psychiatrists may be required to prescribe for the patient mood stabilizers or anti-anxiety medications.

 ✔ Typing ‘‘trauma psychiatrists near me’ can assist anybody in reaching experienced experts that deal with cases of trauma.

3. Lifestyle Changes to Support Healing

✔ Regular Exercise – Any activity whether done inside the house or out door will help to cut down stresses hormones and increases mood.

 ✔ Mindfulness and Meditation – A technique, which calms the mind and thus minimizes anxiety.

 ✔ Healthy Sleep – Lack of proper sleeping pattern can increase the severity of the trauma thus there is need to have the correct sleep pattern.

4. Support Groups and Peer Counseling

✔ Sharing one’s stories with other persons who have also gone through similar ordeals can emotionally reassure one.

 ✔ Self-help groups consisting of group therapy or PTSD support may be useful in sharing coping skills.

Final Thoughts

If one has been a victim of trauma, they will have to endure effects on their brain and mental health; however, it is not impossible to recover through treatment. When it comes to PTSD treatment, many people question where to search for “post-traumatic stress disorder doctors” or “trauma psychiatrists near me”, and they can request professional help.

One should not feel like they have to go through the horrors of trauma alone, there is always support out there and recovery can be achieved.