What is Mental Trauma in Adults?
Mental trauma in adults can be defined as damage or injury to the psyche or mind of an adult after experiencing an extremely distressing or frightening event. Examples include witnessing an accident or murder, experiencing sexual abuse, or being in a war zone or a natural disaster.
Traumatic events often involve a threat to safety or life, but any circumstance that leaves you isolated and feeling overwhelmed can result in mental trauma, even if it does not involve physical injury. Mental trauma may cause symptoms such as severe anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, and uncontrollable thoughts about the incident.
Most adults who go through mental trauma may face challenges in coping or functioning normally after the incident, which seriously affects their normal life. If the symptoms worsen, last for many months or years, and interfere with your daily functioning, you may have a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Causes of Mental Trauma in Adults
Mental trauma in adults can be caused by:
- One-time incidents such as a violent attack, injury, or an accident
- Ongoing, relentless stress, such as experiencing repeated traumatic events like domestic violence, staying in a crime-ridden locality, or struggling with a life-threatening disorder
- Commonly ignored causes, such as the sudden demise of a loved one, breakup in a relationship, or an extremely disappointing or humiliating experience
Mental trauma is more likely to leave an adult with long-lasting psychological and emotional trauma if:
- The person was unprepared for the incident
- The incident occurred from nowhere
- The individual felt powerless to avert the incident
- The incident happened repeatedly (such as rape)
- The incident involved severe cruelty
- The incident occurred during childhood
Signs and Symptoms of Mental Trauma in Adults
Many adults normally experience strong emotional or physical reactions soon after experiencing a traumatic event. Some of the most common symptoms of mental trauma in adults may include the following:
Cognitive
- Nightmares
- Intrusive thoughts of the incident
- Confusion
- Disorientation
- Loss of concentration and memory
Behavioral
- Lack of enthusiasm in activities that were previously enjoyed
- Social withdrawal and self-isolation
- Avoiding places or activities that set off memories of the incident
Physical
- Insomnia
- Edginess
- Fast heart rate
- Variations in eating/sleeping patterns
- Suddenly shocked or alarmed
Psychological
- Panic attacks
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Anger
- Depression
- Immense fear
- Obsessive and compulsive behaviors
What Happens If Mental Trauma in Adults is Left Untreated?
Many adults live with symptoms of mental trauma for years without seeking medical intervention due to fear, shame, guilt, or negative social response. The affected individual’s world slowly and steadily becomes smaller and the effects of untreated mental trauma infiltrate almost every aspect of the person’s life with devastating consequences. The effects of untreated mental trauma may lead to:
- Substance abuse
- Alcoholism
- Hostility
- Social withdrawal
- Constant arguments
- Sexual problems
- Suicidal thoughts
- Impulsive behaviors
- Self-destructive behaviors
- Feelings of despair or hopelessness
- Inability to make correct choices in life
- Inability to maintain healthy relationships with peers, friends, or family
Diagnosis of Mental Trauma in Adults
Your psychotherapist will perform a thorough assessment that involves:
- A discussion of your signs and symptoms and the incident or incidents that led up to them, and whether you have received adequate medical care if needed.
- An evaluation of your mental trauma using the criteria mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which helps to classify or categorize the type of mental trauma being experienced by an individual.
Treatment for Mental Trauma in Adults
The main objective of the treatment for mental trauma is to improve your symptoms, impart skills to manage your symptoms, and restore your self-esteem. Treatment typically involves psychotherapy and counseling, medication, or a combination of both methods. These may include:
- Cognitive processing therapy (CPT): In this therapy, the affected individual is taught how to look at things in a new perspective during which mental imagery of the traumatic event is utilized to assist the individual on how to work through the trauma and achieve control of distress and fear.
- Exposure therapy: In this therapy, your psychotherapist speaks to you repeatedly about the incident or confronts the source of the fear in a controlled and safe environment. This direct confrontation of the traumatic event makes you feel that you have more control over your thoughts and feelings and thereby manage it better.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): In this therapy, your therapist encourages you to recall the traumatic incident while making a distinct side-to-side eye movement which may help reduce distress levels of mental trauma. This form of therapy enables individuals to have more positive thoughts, behaviors, and emotions.
- Stress Inoculation Training (SIT): This is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy in which the emphasis is more on changing how you deal with the stress from the incident. You will learn about relaxation techniques such as massage, meditation, breathing techniques, and other methods to put an end to negative thoughts by relaxing your body and mind and learning new skills to release the added stress from your life.
Summary
Mental trauma in adults is a highly treatable condition if intervention is sought without any delay. Mental trauma can leave you with disturbing memories, emotions, anxiety, socially disconnected, and unable to trust other people without appropriate treatment. Hence, it is extremely important to seek treatment and care from your healthcare provider immediately following a traumatic event so that you can overcome and effectively manage mental trauma and improve your quality of life.