Have you witnessed or experienced a traumatic event? In the months, sometimes even years, following the event, you may experience severe anxiety, vivid flashbacks, nightmares, or uncontrollable thoughts of the occurrence, to name a few concerns. These are the common PTSD Tarpon Springs symptoms, and it would be best to seek professional help if they last for months or more or worse to the point of affecting your functioning and ability to manage activities of daily living.
After a traumatic event, you may experience temporary difficulty but be able to cope and adjust with practical self-care measures. If you don’t, and you leave PTSD symptoms untreated, you are exposed to many risks and complications, including:
Psychological complications
When unmanaged, PTSD is likely to worsen and affect your mental health over time. You are at high risk of severe anxiety and depression, which can spiral and lead to concerns, including suicidal thoughts. This can progress to planning, attempting, and actual suicide.
As anxiety and depression become the order of the day, you can hardly manage daily stressors. You become easily irritable and have difficulty managing anger. Such psychological concerns also drive you to habits such as substance abuse as you strive to manage the symptoms. Self-medication usually spirals as symptoms worsen, increasing the risk of substance abuse disorder (SUD).
Social complications
The psychological impacts of PTSD can put a strain on your relationships. For instance, since anger and aggression are out of control, minor situations can escalate to the point of causing significant social friction. This extends beyond your loved ones since the same reaction is likely to happen at the workplace and other social settings.
The social difficulties usually lead to self-isolation and loneliness. This includes the inability to maintain a job or keep a business running. Such isolation also risks your finances, especially if you can’t work. Social complications could even include arrests, such as due to aggressive behaviors in social settings.
Physiological complications
PTSD does not just impact your mental wellness. The condition is associated with physical comorbidities, including:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Autoimmune disease
- Metabolic syndrome, to name a few
Among the aspects pointing such co-existing conditions to PTSD is the systemic inflammation caused by excessive stress.
Stress can lead to systemic inflammation due to the increased cytokines, which are chemicals released by stress. Moreover, with symptoms like nightmares, your sleep quality takes a blow, which means your brain, body, and heart do not get enough rest. Blood pressure stays up for extended periods, increasing the chances of cardiovascular disease. Your brain doesn’t rest and refresh, keeping you clogged, which only worsens stress. As self-repair is also impacted, you take longer to heal, exposing yourself to more health complications.
PTSD can turn your life inside out, affecting your relationships and finances and exposing you to more health risks. You may discount the symptoms, assuming it is a natural reaction to the traumatic experience. As you strive to lead a healthier and more productive life, seeking professional help and adopting practical wellness self-care is recommended over suppressing the symptoms. Call Just Psych, LLC today for more on PTSD and your overall mental health needs.
