Some people act differently with different stimuli. What could be normal for one person, could be a trigger for another. If you have friends or family that are victims of trauma or have been diagnosed with complex or regular PTSD, here are some symptoms that you didn’t know could be triggers.
- Nightmares that have nothing to do with your trauma.
- Getting angry at anything that startles you/ is loud, or irritating (also associated with misophonia).
- Becoming alarming calm or emotional shut off/ detached in situations of crisis/ chaos or extreme pain.
- Needing very little sleep to function effectively.
- Massive mood swings that have nothing to do with other hormones or situations.
- Massive mood swings set off by something very little and pointless.
- Looking for reasons to cut people out of your life.
- Needing things to be exactly how you like them- not necessarily clean or organized, but just in a specific way and be within your control and getting angry when it is not.
- Exaggerated startle response.
- Feeling out of control when someone tells you that you can’t do something, whether you are not allowed or they don’t want you to do something.
- Preferring high stress/ very busy lifestyles to keep occupied.
- Discomfort with silence.
- Very sensitive to temperatures and smells.
- Derailing conversations when they are causing stress.
- Sudden and unexplained onsets of the most deep sense of melancholy.
- Constant need to have something planned, have a goal to strive for or working for something you want.
- Feeling constantly bored like you have to chase after something.
- Extreme need to please everyone including strangers and have their approval.
- Having a hard time approaching authority figures or constantly thinking you are in the wrong when authority figures approach or talk to you.
- Problems regulating feelings in any situation.
- Persistent feelings of helplessness, shame or guilt for no reason.
- Fantasizing lifestyles and thinking about life options to an obsessive degree.
- Hypervigilance in public and searching crowds.
- Purposely “tanking” a good day and making it sad or bad by listening to music or movies to put you in that mood.
- Feelings of deep shame and chronic sense of worthlessness.
Be aware that something little to you, could be harmful or huge to another person. Listen closely but don’t offer advice as if you can fix their problems. Validate that even these small things are okay and big to them. Don’t tell them to cheer up or stop overthinking their problems.
Be supportive and know when to step in. Acknowledge the reality of their struggle.
