Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Physiological Responses

Physiological responses encompass bodily reactions to a stimulus. These reactions are instinctive and automatic, and humans are likely to experience them often. They may include behavior changes, changes in thinking patterns, social interactions, and psychological and physical well-being (Fitzgerald, DiGangi, and Phan, 2018, p. 123). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is mainly due to past traumas. In this case, the trauma experienced by individuals poses a threat to their safety or well-being. According to Bryant (2019), PTSD is rampant among individuals who have previously been victims of violence, those returning from battlefields, and victims of natural disasters (p. 261). While it may be normal for people to experience trauma resulting from significant life events, the trauma may become pathological when the feelings felt by affected persons do not fade away. Prolonged stress and trauma are likely to affect a person’s health negatively.            

Some of the common physiological responses of post-traumatic stress disorder include sleep loss, frequent panic attacks, and social isolation (Hatch et al., 2018, p. 7). Other people may exhibit some physiological responses to PTSD as emotional reactions like anxiety, feelings of sadness, fear, and shock (Hatch et al., 2018, p. 4). Persons may have difficulties believing occurrences of certain events and end up feeling confused, detached, and numb. When individuals face reminders of traumatic events, they may lose control or fail to cope with the situations at hand. Also, individuals who have PTSD are likely to experience constant worry about the recurrence of the event. Physiological responses to PTSD, such as anxiety, can influence or lead to long-term impacts, such as feelings of depression. Constant anxiety and depression may lead people with PTSD to take illegal substances to alleviate these physiological responses.