The Effects of PTSD & Trauma: Avoidance
Effects of Avoiding Triggers and Emotions
Can delay healing from trauma and PTSD
Makes PTSD symptoms worse
Interferes with memory consolidation
Causes a fractured/disconnection memory (gaps in memories)
Can be helpful short-term as a survival strategy/mechanism, and sometimes can be ineffective and unhelpful if it’s long-term and impacts life areas such as: employment/ job, personal relationships, school/academics, etc. which can impact negatively with our quality of life and day-to-day functioning
When people are fearful of something, they tend to avoid the feared objects, activities or situations. Although this avoidance might help reduce feelings of fear in the short term, over the long term it can make the fear become even worse.
Results? Integration and completion of memory helps put trauma in context in the present instead of the past
Examples of Avoidance
Avoiding difficult and challenging conversations due to fear of conflict, tension, and disagreements
Avoiding discussing the traumatic event(s)
Avoiding being around people who remind them of the initial traumatic event(s)
Types of Avoidance
OVERT AVOIDANCE
Not going to a party to avoid/decrease social anxiety
Short term effect: Temporary relief and release of tension, worry, discomfort, and fear
Long term effect: Increased anxiety being around others, difficulty going to events where you don’t know everyone in attendance
Not driving a car due to fears of getting into an accident
Short term effect: Temporary relief and release of tension, worry, discomfort, and fear
Long term effect: Not being able to drive a car, inconvenience of not being able to drive, relying on public transportation or walking everywhere, relying on taxis/Ubers'/Lyfts
Avoiding situations, experiences, places that remind of you the trauma(s)
Short term effect: Temporary relief and release of tension, worry, discomfort, and fear
Long term effect: Trigger will elicit stronger discomfort and reactions in the future
COGNITIVE AVOIDANCE
Distraction
Short term effect: Keeps our mind off a difficult situation
Long term effect: Maintains belief we cannot cope with the traumatic experiences/memories/situations
Dissociation
Short term effect: Avoid feelings associated with the trauma(s)
Long term effect: Disconnected from a wide range of feelings including pleasant or neutral feelings
Worry/Rumination
Short term effect: Temporary solution as if we are solving/fixing/working on the trauma(s)
Long term effect: Does not solve/fix/work on the trauma(s), requires a lot of effort, requires a lot of time, increases negative emotions over time
Pushing Away/Down “Negative” or “Bad” Thoughts
Short term effect: Relief from not having to think about our thoughts related to the trauma(s)
Long term effect: Thoughts come back, thoughts are usually more intense than before, thoughts even feel more dangerous than before
What Happens When We Avoid?
We feel it in our bodies (the body keeps the score)
Feeling physically on edge, restless, anxious
Isolation and social withdrawal
Negative core beliefs about themselves
Negative assumptions about others and the world
Self blame and exaggerated sense of self blame
Shame and guilt
Difficulties with sleep such as insomnia and nightmares
Difficulties with silence
Difficulties with stillness
Difficulties concentrating
How Does Therapy Help With Trauma Avoidance?
Helps with gradually confronting the avoidance in a step-by-step manner
Helps with learning practical skills/tools to manage overwhelming emotions like panic, anxiety, fear, worry, etc.
For example, Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy was created to help people confront their fears.
PE involves gradually and safely exposing individuals to trauma-related memories, allowing them to confront and process their fears in a safe and controlled setting. Through repeated exposure, individuals learn to tolerate distress and reduce avoidance behaviors, ultimately diminishing the power of traumatic memories.
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