Fear, Depression, Anxiety: Understanding Traumatic Injuries
While countless Americans struggle with trauma, many people don’t understand or appreciate exactly what this condition entails. It’s common that people suppress trauma, whether it’s rooted in their childhood or an injury. However, this isn’t healthy and allows the problem to fester. Seeking care is necessary to protect and restore your physical health, as well as your emotional health.
At Midwest Anesthesia and Pain Specialists, we understand that pain caused by a traumatic accident doesn’t just manifest as physical pain; it can leave emotional and psychological scars as well. Read more about the nuances of experiencing a traumatic injury and how our bodies work to process events such as these.
The Emotional Toll of Trauma
Trauma comes in many forms, from suffering an abusive childhood or a violent attack to experiencing a sports injury. In most cases, it’s not the event itself that causes the lasting harm so much as the intense experience of fear, shame, and guilt that often accompanies it. These aren’t just feelings; they represent chemical responses that increase your inflammatory response, raise your heart rate, and compromise your emotional and physical health.
How Trauma Harms You Physically
When you suffer from trauma, the discomfort doesn’t end at your thoughts. Rather, it comes with a frequent fight or flight response that wears you down, increases inflammation, and makes it hard to sleep. Trauma even drives people to cope with alcohol or drugs, and people with trauma are dramatically overrepresented among those who suffer from addiction. Chronic depression, anxiety, and other conditions that make it hard to move forward frequently follow traumatic injuries and related experiences.
Overall, untreated trauma reduces your quality of life and often forces you to work far harder to do what came easily before. However, proactive treatment for your traumatic injury can help spur along your recovery.
Try Interventional Medicine with MAPS
The Midwest Anesthesia and Pain Specialists are dedicated to helping people cope with traumatic injuries and chronic pain. Our Interventional Pain Management program employs a wide range of minimally invasive, evidence-based, and non-addictive methods for pain treatment. We prioritize our patients above all else, so reach out to us if you need help on the physical side of recovering from trauma. To learn more, contact us today.