Trauma Resource Center - Healing the Past
 SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES OF TRAUMA AND STRESS 
 
 
When our nervous systems prepare us to meet danger, they shift us into highly energized states.  If we can discharge this energy while actively and effectively defending against threat (or shortly after the threatening event), the nervous system will move back toward a normal level of functioning. If not the nervous system compensates for being in a state of self-perpetuating arousal by setting off a chain of adaptations that eventually bind and organize the energy. This energy must go somewhere and that place is called "symptoms".
 
The first symptoms of trauma usually appear shortly after the event that engendered them; others will develop over time, sometimes months or years later. 
 
 
 
Possible Causes of Trauma
 
~ Motor vehicle accidents
 
~ Falls or Personal accidents
 
~ Physical or Emotional abuse
 
~ Invasive medical or surgical procedures
 
~ Illness
 
~ Near drowning
 
~ War 
 
~ Natural disasters 
 
~ Violent acts/attacks
 
~ Overwhelming life experiences
 
~ Experiencing or witnessing 
violence or horror
 
~ Ritual abuse
 
~ Generational and Social trauma
 
~ Pre and Perinatal stress 
 
Types of Symptoms
 
Anxiety / Panic Attacks
PTSD (post traumatic stress)
Hyperarousal
Constriction
Dissociation (including denial)
Feelings of helplessness
Easily and Frequently Stressed Out
Difficulty Sleeping
Phobias
Dizziness/Vertigo
Troubled Breathing
Headaches
Unresolved Pain
Hypervigilance
Fatigued
Abrupt Mood Swings: 
      (rage reactions, temper tantrums, shame)
Extreme Sensitivity to Light / Sound
Intrusive Imagery 
Nightmares or Night Terrors
Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Emotional Flooding
Hyperactivity
Gastrointestinal Problems
Self Regulation Problems
Feeling Disconnected to Life