How Untreated Trauma Can Negatively Impact Your Life

According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is a person’s emotional response to a very negative event. These events include things like experiencing a natural disaster, being involved in a horrible accident or being sexually assaulted. Once a person has gone through a traumatic event, they will need to figure out how to deal with the fallout from this experience.

One of the worst things you can do after experiencing a traumatic event is bury your feelings. Attempting to move on like nothing has happened is a bad decision that can come back to haunt you. Read below to find out how untreated trauma can negatively impact your life.

The Physical Problems Caused By Untreated Trauma

Did you realize that multiple studies have shown a correlation between untreated trauma and chronic health conditions? The biggest misconception that most people have is that trauma can only affect their mental health. In reality, untreated trauma can affect nearly every part of your mind and body.

Some of the most common physical symptoms that can be attributed to untreated trauma are:

·       Severe headaches

·       Rapid heartbeat and chest pains

·       Frequent infections and colds

·       Difficult swallowing

·       Dry mouth

·       Grinding teeth

·       Low energy levels

·       Stomach problems

If you are currently dealing with these problems and have untreated trauma in your past, it is time to do something about it. With the help of Joe Langheim Counseling, you can learn how to deal with past trauma in a healthy way.

Untreated Trauma Causes Emotional Instability

People with untreated trauma typically develop unhealthy coping mechanisms. Using the wrong methods to deal with trauma can result in severe emotional problems. These emotional issues might push the people you love away and can make living a happy and productive life very difficult.

The emotional problems caused by untreated trauma include:

·       Easily frustrated and agitated

·       A desire to avoid social interaction

·       Difficulty quieting your mind or finding calm

·       Constantly feeling overwhelmed

The only way to put these emotional problems behind you is by working with a mental health professional.

Untreated Trauma Can Lead To Behavioral Changes

Another bi-product of untreated trauma is behavioral issues. Most of the behavioral problems trauma victims have developed because of their desire to manage the intensity of a traumatic event. These behavioral problems can make it difficult for a person to maintain healthy relationships. This is why confronting the trauma causing these behavioral problems is so important.

People with untreated trauma have common behavioral problems like:

·       Nervous behaviors (i.e., pacing, nail-biting and fidgeting)

·       Bad eating habits

·       Increased use of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs

·       A desire to procrastinate

Allowing these bad habits to go unchecked can create lots of problems. Many drug addicts and alcoholics have untreated trauma. Rather than waiting until you hit rock bottom to do something about your untreated trauma, it is time to seek out the help of mental health professionals.

If you are dealing with one or more of the problems mentioned in this article, Joe Langheim Counseling is here to help.