Can abuse cause PTSD?

When most of us hear about the diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), we often picture images of soldiers coming back from war or survivors who have lived through a traumatic event like a major car accident. However, many mental health professionals are treating more and more clients who have been diagnosed with complex or chronic PTSD due to experiencing prolonged, repeated types of trauma or abuse, such as physical, sexual, emotional, and verbal abuse, as well as childhood neglect. Whereas PTSD can arise from a single traumatic event, complex or chronic PTSD can arise from repeated traumatic experiences over a period of time but involve similar symptoms. Developmental psychology, which is the scientific study of the psychology of human beings over the human life span, has found links between acute or chronic trauma and mental health problems. Many survivors of abuse, domestic violence, or intimate partner violence show symptoms consistent with PTSD or CPTSD due to the abuse they have experienced.

An individual who has experienced repeated verbal, emotional, or physical abuse or life-threatening instances of neglect often carries invisible wounds from these experiences, which can negatively impact self-esteem, one’s ability to develop a healthy coherent identity or sense of self, trust in relationships, and lead to attachment problems. Individuals with PTSD or CPTSD may become hypervigilant to their environment, expecting danger at every turn, which elevates stress hormones, such as cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine. When the nervous system and stress hormones are over-responsive, and the individual is stuck in the primitive fight/flight/freeze response, this can contribute to mental health and physical health symptoms.

According to the American Psychiatry Association, symptoms of PTSD include hypervigilance, feeling of helplessness, difficulty regulating emotions, insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety and panic attack, dissociation, avoidance of triggers, reliving a negative event, physiological symptoms, such as heart pounding, sweating when reminded of a negative event, blank areas in memory, avoidant behavior and procrastination, phobias, difficulty trusting others, super alert or on edge, jumpy or easily startled, anger/irritability, hyper-defensiveness, difficulty staying or falling asleep, and feelings of hopelessness. Other characteristics of complex or chronic PTSD identified by author Julie L. Hall include search for rescuers/saviors, search for mother or father figures, social withdrawal or isolation, risky or self-destructive behavior, suicidal thoughts, a foreshortened sense of humor, perfectionism, depression, addictions, defeatism and self-sabotage, a harsh inner critic/devaluing self-talk, generalized guilt, disrupted breathing, compulsive self-effacement, and a range of health problems or compromised immune system. If you have been experiencing any suicidal thoughts, reach out for help immediately. You can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For many clients, receiving a diagnosis of PTSD or CPTSD can be the first step in beginning to heal and acknowledging the impact of abuse or trauma. By recognizing the impact of trauma and how trauma continues to live out in the present, clients can begin to process the full impact of trauma, re-prioritize the importance of physical and emotional safety, and engage in self-care and counseling, and trauma work. Although PTSD symptoms can linger for years, many clients experience healing and begin to make positive life adjustments to help them cope better with symptoms. Counseling, medication, and a robust and healthy support system can support healing and recovery from abuse.