We’ve all seen the media’s depiction of PTSD – the grizzled war veteran with an eyepatch and a propensity for staring off into the middle distance.

You don’t know what he got up to in his military days, partly because he’ll never tell you and partly because the battle didn’t stop after he left the battlefield. The war continues to rage inside this mysterious character; hang around him for long enough and you might catch a glimpse of the nightmare that is his tortured reality…

PTSD is more than what you see on TV. It’s real, it’s all around us, and it could happen to you or someone you know.

According to the Sidran Institute, an estimated 70% of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives, and up to 20% of these adults go on to develop PTSD. The National Institute of Mental Health states that 6.8% of US adults will experience PTSD in their lifetimes and 3.6% of US adults had PTSD in the past year. These numbers are expected to grow as trauma and PTSD gain more visibility.

In addition to being a travel blog, Moon Emissary aims to shatter the misconceptions surrounding PTSD and create a space for discourse on trauma in the travel community. Read on for an introduction on this complicated and misunderstood condition, where you’ll get answers to some frequently asked questions.

What is PTSD?

PTSD – which stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – is a psychiatric disorder that occurs in those who have witnessed or experienced a traumatic event. As a natural adaptive response to distressing experiences, the condition is characterized by prolonged, sustained emotional disturbance, hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts (aka flashbacks), and avoidance of anything – places, activities, objects, people, or stimuli – that bears resemblance to the original traumatic event.

Though PTSD was formally recognized by the psychology community in the 1970s, PTSD has been with humanity for a long time. It was originally associated with the military; during WWI it was known as “shell shock” and during WWII it was dubbed “combat fatigue”. Despite bearing different names, the symptoms and their causes were the same – involuntary startle reactions, irritability, sleep disturbances, and flashbacks in veterans previously exposed to wartime stress and life-or-death conditions on the battlefield.

Psycholo-Tea

Before the phalluses, hot mamas, and cocaine, Sigmund Freud originally studied trauma theory. After observing neurotic, “hysterical” behavior in his patients, he connected the dots between dysregulated behavior and a history of childhood sexual abuse. To investigate these findings further meant exposing an epidemic of abuse amongst 19th century Vienna’s societal upper crust, and subsequently, endangering Freud’s fledgling career.

What is trauma?

You can’t have PTSD without trauma.

Though formally defined as “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience”, trauma is an umbrella term for the emotional or psychological responses that occur as a result of a deeply distressing event or experience. Everyone experiences trauma in different ways, as traumatic events occupy a wide, diverse spectrum.

There are three categories for trauma:

Acute – trauma from a single incident, such as a car accident or losing one’s job
Chronic – repeated and prolonged trauma, such as intimate partner violence
Complex – exposure to multiple and varied traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature, such as childhood abuse or neglect

Acute trauma is the most common category, but it’s possible to experience or witness more than one type of category during one’s lifetime.

What causes PTSD?

Though PTSD presents as physiological and emotional symptoms, it occurs in the brain.

To summarize, all human brains have a “switch”. A switch that, once triggered, activates our stress response. Known as fight-flight-freeze, our stress response is a primordial survival mechanism and our body’s involuntary reaction to danger. Chances are you’ve experienced the stress response before – activities such as roller coasters, bungee jumping, and skydiving are benign triggers.

Fight-flight-freeze, however, is a temporary state. In the face of an endangering event, our brain flips its survival switch. Once we return to safety, the brain turns the switch off again.

A healthy, non-traumatized brain knows when to flip the switch on and when to turn it off. However, when the right psychological profile meets the traumatic event, the switch flips and stays in the “on” position, even after you’ve returned to safety.

When the brain’s switch stays in the “on” position for long enough, the brain’s owner develops PTSD. Neurologically, PTSD is what happens when the brain’s emotional, memory, sensory, and reasoning centers miscommunicate. Certain regions, such as your memory processing center, become hyperactive, while other regions, such as your logical reasoning center, become hypoactive.

PTSD, however, does not mean your brain is broken. Trauma-informed therapists have the tools to help reset a traumatized brain’s survival switch and restore communication between its regions.

Details on the neurological side of PTSD are covered in my “How Does PTSD Change Your Brain?” post.

What is a trigger?

Avoidance is a defining characteristic in many trauma survivors, and many design their lives around avoiding triggers.

A trigger is sensory stimuli – sight, sound, touch, taste, feeling – that bares resemblance to the original trauma. When a traumatized person encounters a trigger, they may experience vivid flashbacks, panic attacks, and display signs of emotional distress, such as shaking and crying. For example, if a domestic abuse survivor was abused by someone who smoked cigarettes, the smell of cigarette smoke may act as a trigger.

Like trauma, triggers occupy a diverse spectrum. Being aware of and taking steps to manage one’s triggers are a major component behind treating PTSD and improving one’s quality of life after trauma.

Who can get PTSD? Is it only for veterans?

Anyone, veterans and civilians alike.

PTSD is the ultimate egalitarian; any race, any gender, and any class can get it under the right circumstances.

The name brand condition, however, has a few quid pro pros. Only a trained mental health professional can deliver a diagnosis, and in order to get a diagnosis, patients must display all of the following symptoms:

Intrusive memories – involuntary flashbacks, recurrent nightmares, or night terrors
Avoidance – avoiding stimuli, places, or people bearing resemblance to the traumatic event
Negative changes in thinking and mood – difficulty feeling connected with loved ones, depression, hopelessness about the future, low self-esteem
Changes in physical or emotional reactions – constantly on the lookout for danger, irritability, hypersensitive startle response, trouble concentrating, feelings of guilt or shame

In addition to the above, symptoms must last for over one month and be severe enough to interfere with relationships or work.

Is PTSD curable?

Sadly, no.

PTSD is for life. However, it’s not a death sentence.

The psychology field has come a long way since Freud. In recent decades, researchers have developed new, effective methods of treating PTSD, and treatment methods will certainly improve as trauma studies continue to evolve. If you are suffering in the aftermath of trauma, don’t let your symptoms go untreated; community support groups and trauma-informed therapists are just two of many avenues for you to begin your recovery journey.

Recovery from trauma is a life-long, sometimes painful road, but with the right support, lifestyle changes, and medication (if needed), trauma survivors can learn to manage their PTSD symptoms. And with enough time, trauma survivors grow to can enjoy a healthy, fulfilling life, a life free from fear, pain, and internal shame.

What the Heck is PTSD?