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When someone lives through trauma, it doesn’t just fade with time. It lingers quietly and painfully, changing how they see the world and themselves. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) isn’t just a mental health diagnosis; it’s a deeply personal challenge that can touch every part of a person’s life.
PTSD doesn’t discriminate. It affects people from all walks of life – abuse survivors, combat veterans, and accident victims. In Kentucky, young people aged 15 to 24 are especially vulnerable, leading the state in trauma linked to motor vehicle crashes. That statistic isn’t just a number – it’s a warning sign.
Even as conversations around mental health become common, many people still delay getting the help they need. Stigma, fear, and limited access to care are powerful barriers. But trauma doesn’t stay still. Left unaddressed, PTSD can worsen over time, damaging relationships, affecting job or school performance, and significantly increasing the risk of substance use and suicide.
At SUN Behavioral Kentucky, we understand the impact of untreated PTSD and its consequences. We’re committed to ensuring you’re aware of the effects of PTSD and that help is available.
When PTSD goes untreated, symptoms can intensify over time and quietly impact every corner of a person’s life. These symptoms, such as flashbacks and nightmares, can become overwhelming without proper care. Let’s explore the lingering effects of untreated PTSD.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) recognizes 20 symptoms for post-traumatic stress disorder. These symptoms are grouped in four main categories: Intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and arousal and reactivity.
Intrusion occurs when the past keeps making its way into the present. It involves involuntarily reexperiencing the traumatic event through nightmares, intrusive thoughts or images, and flashbacks. These distressing thoughts or memories repeatedly invade a person’s mind and feel like the traumatic incident is happening all over again. These experiences are so vivid that they feel real. During flashbacks, someone may lose touch with reality, becoming mentally transported back to the traumatic moment. Nightmares trigger the same fear and helplessness that were felt during the trauma and can lead to chronic insomnia.
After experiencing trauma, many people prefer to distance themselves from reminders of the event. Individuals living with PTSD may make efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or situations that remind them of the trauma. This is more than just a coping mechanism and can be extremely isolating, often becoming a barrier to healing.
This affects how individuals perceive themselves, others, and the world around them. They typically have a distorted view and feel they are irreparably damaged or that the world is unsafe. Symptoms include feelings of detachment and negative emotional states, such as shame, guilt, or anger. This can cause a pervasive sense of negative self-worth, memory problems, or emotional numbness.
Arousal and reactivity can leave individuals feeling like they're living in survival mode. After trauma, the brain becomes wired to anticipate danger, even when there’s no threat. This is the body’s way of staying prepared and involves heightened physical and emotional responses to stress, often manifest as hypervigilance, aggression, feeling on edge, or reckless behavior. The nervous system is in a constant state of readiness, although the environment may be safe. While these symptoms affect the mind, they also take a toll on physical health, manifesting as headaches, muscle tensions, cardiovascular problems, and gastrointestinal issues. Arousal and reactivity symptoms also make it more difficult to regulate emotions, and small stressors may lead to irritability or angry outbursts.
While some people who experience trauma recover with time, others go on to develop PTSD. Untreated PTSD can take a severe toll on your mental health. Symptoms may not seem severe initially, but they gradually escalate, creating long-term damage to your overall well-being. Individuals with PTSD typically experience other mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, or substance use disorders. Living in a constant state of hypervigilance and emotional instability can strain relationships and lead to social withdrawal, which deepens the decline of mental well-being.
Common mental health effects of untreated PTSD include:
The good news is that PTSD is treatable. PTSD treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can help you manage symptoms and regain control of your life.
PTSD doesn’t simply go away on its own. Left untreated, it can have grave effects on your mental, emotional, and physical health. The most significant consequence of untreated PTSD is the deterioration of mental health. Living in a constant state of fear or arousal can make it difficult to feel safe or trust others, which impairs day-to-day functioning and damages relationships.
The relationship between trauma and substance use is deeply intertwined. This link can form a cyclical connection, where trauma leads to addiction and addiction exacerbates trauma. The long-lasting effects of trauma make individuals more susceptible to developing further substance concerns. Many individuals turn to substances as a way of coping with the intense, painful memories, debilitating anxiety, or to escape intrusive thoughts.
PTSD alters the brain’s ability to process fear, stress, and manage emotions. Symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, and hypervigilance can feel overwhelming. To cope, some people begin using substances to manage their symptoms, which can worsen symptoms over time.
Studies show that substance use and PTSD commonly co-occur. Individuals with PTSD are more likely to develop a substance use disorder than those without the condition. Substance use can exacerbate depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, which then complicates PTSD symptoms. This leads to turmoil, can significantly impact daily functioning and relationships, and diminish overall quality of life.
Living with post-traumatic stress disorder can feel debilitating and isolating, but it’s important to know that healing is possible. While symptoms may be persistent and painful, they do not have to consume you. Treatment can significantly lessen the effects of PTSD on your life. Recognizing the need for support is a brave first step toward recovery.
When left untreated, the long-term effects of PTSD are exhausting. However, with the right treatment, you can begin processing trauma and learning healthier ways to cope. Therapeutic modalities like CBT can help you reshape negative thinking patterns, ease symptoms, and reduce the emotional weight of traumatic memories. Healing isn’t about forgetting what happened – it’s about learning to move forward with resilience.
At SUN Behavioral Kentucky, we solve unmet needs by offering specialized mental health care for PTSD. Our team of experienced professionals understands the complexities of trauma and provides personalized treatment. Our crisis care center is open 24/7, ensuring you’re able to get the help you need. You don’t have to carry the weight of trauma alone; we’re here for you. If you’re ready to begin your journey to healing, give us a call at (859) 429-5188.
820 Dolwick Drive
Erlanger, Kentucky 41018
Open 24 hours
