These are some of the symptoms Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. People who go through stressful or scary experiences can have long-term effects. Your brain and body knows that it was traumatic. When your brain is just not able to process through what happened, you may experience some of these symptoms as a result.

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• Trouble sleeping

• Bad dreams

• Feeling numb

• Food doesn’t have any taste

• Feeling like you’re in danger all over again

• Blaming yourself for what happened

• Thinking “I can’t trust anyone”

• Panic attacks

• Angry outbursts

• Feeling like you’re not in your own body- like you’re watching yourself from outside

• Wanting to be alone

• Overwhelmingly sad and crying

• Anxiety

• Feeling triggered by something that reminds you of your trauma

• Trying not to think about, talk about, or have any feelings about the abuse

• Suicidal thoughts

• Self-harming behaviors

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If you have been having suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help. http://www.suicidepreventionhotline.com is a great place to start. They have live chat, text messaging services, and can connect you to local resources to help.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013. 

“Suicide Prevention Hotline Homepage.” National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Web. 13 Aug. 2021.