Imagine this: you're in the supermarket, you hear a loud noise, and suddenly you're no longer there. Not really. In a split second, you've been catapulted back to something you'd rather forget. Your heart pounds, your hands tremble, and the people around you just see someone who has stopped for a moment. What's happening inside is a world of its own.
These are flashbacks. And they are one of the most significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, more commonly known as PTSD.
From trench to diagnosis: a brief history
PTSD is not a modern phenomenon. During the First World War, army doctors saw soldiers returning from the front with jerky movements, vacant stares and complete emotional breakdowns. It was then called Shell shock shell shock.
For a long time, it was dismissed as weakness or malingering. It wasn't until 1980 that the American Psychiatric Association officially recognised PTSD as a diagnosis, partly thanks to research into Vietnam veterans. Since then, we've known better: this is not a character flaw. It is psychological damage.
Who is at risk?
PTSD affects more people than many realise. Of course, war veterans are a well-known group, but the disorder has many more faces.
Victims of violence or sexual abuse regularly develop PTSD, especially when the trauma was repeated or began at a young age. People who have witnessed a serious accident, a robbery or a disaster can also experience it. .
What is less known: emergency responders and emergency service workers also run a significant risk. Ambulance staff, police officers, firefighters, and healthcare professionals are exposed to shocking situations daily. Sometimes, it builds up and there are multiple traumas. If there is no room to process it, this is called cumulative trauma, and it is at least as burdensome.
What happens inside
During a traumatic experience, the brain stores the memory differently than ordinary memories. Normally, our memory archives events as something that has passed. With trauma, this doesn't always happen. The memory remains, as it were, in the body.
A smell, a sound, a touch: these are enough triggers to unleash that experience again. That is a flashback. The brain no longer distinguishes between then and now.
More than just flashbacks
PTSD is not limited to reoccurring images. The disorder has a broad spectrum of symptoms that can severely disrupt daily life.
Many people with PTSD have trouble sleeping or are plagued by nightmares. They avoid places, people, or situations that remind them of the trauma. Panic attacks with heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and an overwhelming sense of threat are common.
In addition, people with PTSD are often constantly on guard. The nervous system is permanently in alarm mode, ready for danger that may not be there at all. This makes them irritable and touchy. Not because they are difficult, but because their body is telling them that they are still in danger.
Assistance is possible
PTSD is serious, but also treatable. Forms of therapy such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy have proven effective. They help the brain to finally process traumatic memories so that they no longer intrude on the present.
The first step is recognition. Recognition of what's happening, and the courage to seek help.
Trauma is not something to be ashamed of. It is a scar from something you have experienced and although scars remain visible, they can be treated.
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