Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Women: Signs & Symptoms
Many trauma survivors end up feeling broken. No matter what you’ve been through or what stage of life you experienced trauma, there’s no denying that trauma impacts your very soul. As a woman, it’s important to understand the common signs and symptoms of trauma so that you can work on the rebuilding process from within.
One of Carl Jung’s most prominent concepts is the idea of individuation, that humans are on a lifelong pursuit of coming into one’s own unique self. When trauma is digging at the very core of your soul, it can feel nearly impossible to find and appreciate that sense of who one is on a personal level — especially as a woman, as one is more focused on avoiding that which may be triggering for them. This can lead to being in a state of desensitization and/or frozen in fear.
Keep in mind that trauma can impact anyone. It doesn’t discriminate based on gender. However, women might show signs of it differently. Recognizing those signs will help empower you to begin picking up the necessary pieces to provide healing.
With that, let’s look at some of the signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women.
Common Symptoms of PTSD in Women
It’s understandable to feel afraid, uneasy, and upset after a traumatic event occurs. However, there’s a difference between those feelings (that typically fade away) and PTSD.
Post-traumatic stress disorder occurs when those feelings of extreme fear due to trauma don’t go away on their own. In fact, the distress can feel even worse and continue to grow as intrusive thoughts take hold. Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include:
Flashbacks
Avoidance
Emotional detachment
Guilt
Anxiety
Being easily startled
For women, dealing with these symptoms can make you feel like you always have to be on guard. While men dealing with PTSD can certainly experience these symptoms, studies have shown that they are often more intense for women, which can lead to other mental health conditions.
More Common Issues in Women
Some of the symptoms of PTSD in women are also more noticeable. Avoidance, for example, is one of the most prominent signs in women. You might try to avoid any physical, mental, or emotional reminders of what happened to you. That could include staying away from certain places or people, which could severely impact your quality of life.
The hypervigilance many women with PTSD also face can lead to a variety of health issues. Constantly being on edge makes it difficult to sleep. You’ll likely become more irritable and have difficulty concentrating on certain things. As you might expect, those issues can impact everything from your relationships to your career, creating even more problems.
Studies have shown that women are also often more likely to re-experience traumatic thoughts than men. Intrusive thoughts can show up as vivid memories or flashbacks or occur while you’re sleeping as nightmares. These thoughts are often very detailed and can feel extremely real, taking you back to the moment the trauma actually occurred.
In an attempt to stop these thoughts, it’s not uncommon for women with PTSD to become emotionally numb. It’s a defense mechanism, but it can cause detachment from people, a lack of positive emotions, and an increase in the risk of social isolation.
What Can You Do?
Women tend to hold onto PTSD symptoms more internally than men. As suggested above, that can often make it more difficult to start piecing your soul back together because you’re hiding away some of the most important pieces.
Don’t hesitate to reach out for help when it comes to recovering from trauma. It’s possible, but it’s not something you have to do on your own. Recognize that your PTSD doesn’t define who you are, and it doesn’t make you less of a person. Trauma therapy can help you start rebuilding, you can create a better future for yourself that’s free from the confines of trauma symptoms.