How Does Trauma Increase The Chances of Worse Health Issues?
When trauma happens, unfortunately, it doesn’t just go away as quickly as it came on. It tends to linger.
Your body and brain will do everything possible to defend and protect itself. Sometimes, that means putting up defense mechanisms and pushing aside your true thoughts and feelings so you can get through it.
Most of the time, traumatic experiences aren’t properly dealt with. Instead, they’re buried deep with hopes of forgetting that it ever occurred in the first place, which can lead to more problems down the road.
Let’s learn more about how trauma can increase the chances of worse health issues.
What is Trauma?
Trauma is a response that can occur when someone deals with a stressful or distressing event that is out of their control. Trauma can be a one-time singular incident or an event that takes place over a period of time.
These are a few of the most common causes of trauma:
Accident
Assault
Childhood abuse
Emotional abuse
Health problems
Injury
Loss of a loved one
Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Torture
War
The Impact of Trauma on Health
Trauma on its own can be difficult to deal with. Unresolved trauma can cause further complications. A lot of people think that burying their trauma deep down inside themself will make them feel better. In reality, this can lead to worsening signs and symptoms. Let’s learn more about some of the negative impacts that trauma can have on someone’s health.
The Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn Responses
When someone experiences a traumatic event, their body protects and defends itself against any perceived threats. This defense mechanism can cause the body and brain to alter their normal processes and functioning. The body and brain tend to fall into one of the four different response types: the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response.
Fight: The fight response is triggered when your body and brain believe you can take on or overpower a perceived threat. Signals will be released from your brain to your body to prepare it for fight mode.
Flight: If the body and brain don’t believe you can overpower the perceived threat, it will go into flight mode. Adrenaline is released so you have the energy and stamina to escape the perceived threat.
Freeze: The freeze response happens when you are stuck in place and unable to move or react to a threat. The body and brain go into this freeze response mode when it doesn’t believe you can fight or fight.
Fawn: The last response, the fawn response, is only used after fight, flight, and freeze are used unsuccessfully. The fawn response means you try to agree with, befriend, or defend the threat instead of fighting or fleeing it.
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
After a trauma happens, the body and brain may have a difficult time returning to a state of normalcy due to fear of another threat. This means that these responses can be triggered, even in situations that aren’t threatening. In turn, additional behavioral, emotional, and physical health problems can occur. Unhealthy coping mechanisms that can lead to worsening signs and symptoms are often used when it comes to trauma. These are some of the most common unhealthy coping mechanisms:
Binge eating
Gambling
Reckless driving
Starving oneself
Substance use and abuse
Tobacco use
Unsafe sexual activities
ADEs
ADEs are known as adverse childhood experiences. Many studies show that there is a big connection between childhood trauma and long-term health issues. These are some of the most common conditions that have been linked to trauma:
Anxiety
Autoimmune disorders
Cancer
Chronic pain
Depression
Diabetes
Heart disease
Hepatitis
Hypertension
Liver disease
Lung disease
Sexually transmitted diseases
Social isolation
Seek Additional Support
Trauma can affect people in different ways. No matter if you’re struggling with recent trauma or trauma from the past, help is still available to you. Reach out today to set up a consultation with JoyFeel Therapy. We are here to help.