Trauma Symptoms

There are trauma symptoms that you should be watching out for when you or your loved one suffers a trauma. These include mental or cognitive reactions, physical reactions, and behavioral reactions. Below is a list of symptoms and reactions to look for.

Mental (cognitive) Reactions

• Blaming someone
• Change in alertness
• Changes in the way you think about yourself
• Confusion
• Changes in the way you think about the world
• Difficulty concentrating
• Changes in the way you think about other people
• Difficulty making decisions
• Heightened awareness of your surroundings (hypervigilance)
• Loss of orientation to time, place, person
• Poor abstract thinking
• Nightmares
• Poor attention span
• Intrusive images
• Poor decisions
• Memory problems
• Poor problem solving

Physical Reactions

• Chest pain
• Chills
• Difficulty breathing
• Dizziness
• Elevated blood pressure
• Fainting
• Headaches
• Lack of energy
• Muscle tension
• Nausea
• Nervous
• Profuse sweating
• Rapid heart rate
• Shock symptoms
• Teeth grinding
• Visual difficulty
• Vomiting

Behavioral Reactions

• Alcohol Consumption
• Antisocial Behavior
• Avoiding places or situations
• Becoming confrontational and aggressive
• Becoming withdrawn or isolated from others
• Change in activity
• Change in eating habits
• Easily Startled
• Emotional Outbursts
• Erratic Movements
• Hyper alert to environment
• Inability to rest
• Increase or decrease in sexual activity
• Loss or gain weight
• Restlessness
• Somatic complaints
• Paranoid

If you or a loved on is exhibiting any of these trauma symptoms please contact a mental health provider for help.