Managing stress may be severely affected. For example, trying to make sound decisions regarding your career, relationships, and goals may be impaired. When someone experiences a disturbing situation, even a mild one, they may lack cognitive clarity. For instance, it might be difficult to experience joy or happiness, as you are detached from your positive feelings too. That way, you don’t have to re-experience your trauma-related negativity. You are actually walling off your emotions from the rest of your mind. This is called dissociation and leaves you feeling disconnected from the world and isolated. Unfortunately, this symptom is often misunderstood as other people may think that you are “spaced out”, forgetful, or uncaring. Your feelings, thoughts, and emotions associated with trauma are so painful that you actively avoid them. What does this mean? Emotional numbing is a form of self-protection that can look like indifference to those on the outside. One of the signs of trauma more difficult to notice is numbing to your own emotions. To others, you may seem frustratingly unstable or unpredictable. You sense danger and feel upset but the feeling is general and may or may not be linked to past trauma. What happened? As with feeling overwhelmed, traumatic memories or sensations can arise without warning. It feels as if a switch has been flipped. For instance, you might be talking to a friend, having a pleasant conversation. Mood SwingsĪnother lesser-known symptom of trauma is general mood swings. Externally, others might see you as frequently flustered, chronically anxious, or agitated.

Your attention turns to the trauma trigger and the wave of emotions it causes. If you’re experiencing this, juggling all of the other responsibilities of the day feels impossible at times. That memory quickly dominates their thinking. They find themselves in a situation that triggers a traumatic memory. People who experience trauma will often experience a sense of overwhelm. Pay Attention to These Lesser-known Signs of Trauma Feeling Overwhelmed Often To help you avoid this, consider some not-so-obvious symptoms. Often, unresolved trauma isn’t so easy to spot. That’s an issue because not recognizing the signs of trauma can prolong suffering and cause a delay in care. Or, you might notice something is off, but associate the symptoms with another emotional problem. In fact, you can be struggling with the effects of trauma without even realizing that they are occurring. Yet, there are many signs of trauma that are more subtle and not nearly so obvious. Yes, the fear response is certainly one trauma symptom and does play a significant role. But that is more of a stereotype than reality. It’s easy to imagine someone curled up in a ball, paralyzed with fear. When you consider signs of trauma, what do you think of?

Signs of trauma in adults