Understanding Trauma Symptoms and How to Get Support
Trauma can severely affect your mental and physical health. Sometimes, we don’t realize how much past events have affected our lives. However, working through traumatic events and trauma-related symptoms is invaluable when it comes to how doing so can positively affect your mental health, physical well-being, quality of life, and relationships.
Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada is an ideal healing space for people overcoming trauma. With inpatient treatment and outpatient therapy offered on-site, we have options for you.
Identifying that you have experienced trauma or noticing the effects of trauma and how they impact your life is often the first step to seeking help.
So, how do you identify whether or not you’ve experienced trauma? A lot of people turn to an online trauma test or assessment. This is where our “Do I have trauma quiz” becomes a valuable resource.
And, although online tests aren’t a diagnostic tool, they can act as a valuable screening tool and provide useful insights.
Below, you will find our informal trauma quiz. This article will also go over other things that may benefit you as someone looking for a trauma quiz, such as examples of traumatic events that may help you identify whether or not you are a trauma survivor and why trauma treatment matters.
True or False “Do I Have Trauma?” Quiz
If you think you may have trauma, it’s likely that an event or circumstance impacted you negatively in some way. No matter what an online trauma test says, getting help for anything that sticks with you or impacts your mental health in a negative way is important.
With that said, here is our true or false trauma test. This short quiz is designed to look for possible signs of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
- You have experienced a stressful or traumatic event. This could refer to a single traumatic event, like a car accident, or it could refer to ongoing trauma, such as a serious illness affecting you or a loved one, domestic violence, or bullying.
- You sleep more than usual (hypersomnia) or have difficulty sleeping, which may manifest through trouble staying or falling asleep (insomnia).
- You have re-experiencing symptoms, such as flashbacks, emotional flashbacks, recurring memories, intrusive thoughts related to an event, or nightmares.
- You avoid reminders of a traumatic or stressful event, such as people, locations, objects, or thoughts related to a specific time in your life. These are called avoidance symptoms.
- You have trouble building or maintaining close relationships, or you experience codependency or fear of abandonment.
- You experience disproportionately negative thoughts about yourself, others, or the world.
- You isolate yourself from others or have trouble feeling connected to other people.
- You experience low self-esteem, or your self-esteem repeatedly fluctuates from high to very low.
- You blame yourself for traumatic or stressful events that have taken place.
- You no longer have an interest in hobbies or activities you used to enjoy.
- You experience intense emotional reactions others don’t understand.
- You experience depression or emotional numbness.
- You feel hypervigilant, anxious, or on edge often.
- It is difficult for you to experience positive emotions.
- You have difficulty concentrating or focusing.
- You are easily startled.
In addition to psychological symptoms, many people with trauma disorders also have physical symptoms, like body aches.
If you answered “true” to any of the questions above, seeking mental health treatment is recommended. This is especially true if your symptoms negatively affect your life or if you answered “true” to a significant number of questions.
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Quiz
In addition to using a test to look for possible signs of trauma and PTSD, some people may wonder if they’ve been through childhood trauma specifically. The most well-known childhood trauma quiz is called the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) quiz—a screening tool that looks for common traumatic experiences that occur in childhood.
While the ACE test can be helpful, it doesn’t detect every possible type of childhood trauma. For example, community violence, racism, natural disasters, and housing insecurity are all traumatic events that can severely affect your well-being, but the ACE test does not look for them.
Causes of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD
Every person in trauma recovery is different. You do not have to experience every possible symptom of PTSD to get a diagnosis. To be diagnosed with PTSD, you just need to meet the criteria for the disorder, which can present in different ways. Some people who have been through traumatic events will meet the criteria for another disorder.
Complex PTSD differs from typical or traditional PTSD in the sense that it is caused by continuous or repetitive trauma. Trauma is also linked to an increased risk of personality disorders, like borderline personality disorder (BPD), mood disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and anxiety disorders.
Many people do not realize that certain events can be considered traumatic experiences. While it is not an extensive or full list, here are some examples of singular and ongoing traumatic events. Looking at examples of common traumatic events may help validate your experiences and detect whether you have past trauma.
Single Traumatic Events
Examples of singular events that could cause trauma symptoms include but aren’t limited to the following.
- A life-threatening event, such as a natural disaster or car accident
- Sudden death of a loved one, such as a family member
- Singular-event sexual assault
A single traumatic event has a clear beginning and end. Both singular events and persistent trauma can have a profound impact on a person or the people around them.
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Continuing or Prolonged Trauma
Complex trauma refers to ongoing, repeated, or prolonged trauma. Examples of persistent and/or prolonged traumatic events include but aren’t limited to the following:
- Having a parent or caregiver with a serious mental illness or substance use disorder
- Having a parent or caregiver with a serious physical illness
- Continuous bullying or threats
- Being held hostage or kidnapped
- Poverty or housing insecurity
- Prolonged sexual abuse
- Verbal abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Physical abuse
- Physical neglect
- Emotional neglect
- Stalking
Military personnel, first responders who are repeatedly exposed to illness, death, and other stressors, and others are also at risk of trauma disorders.
What if you still aren’t sure whether you have experienced a traumatic event? Seeing a provider who is qualified to diagnose mental disorders, such as a psychiatrist, can help.
Why Does Working With a Mental Health Professional During Trauma Recovery Matter?
Working with a mental health professional who specializes in trauma can improve your emotional well-being, physical well-being, and quality of life. At Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada, we have on-site providers with extensive experience in diagnosing and treating trauma disorders and related mental health concerns.
Here are two of the main reasons it’s so vital to seek professional help.
Formal clinical diagnoses
Seeking professional help for trauma means that you can get an adequate diagnosis and effective treatment. Since traumatic events can increase the risk of multiple types of mental health conditions, this can be important.
Having a clinical diagnosis might also help guide you toward the right approach to treatment for you.
Therapy and medication services
The best approach to treating trauma differs from person to person. Prolonged exposure therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy are some examples of therapeutic modalities that are effective in reducing trauma symptoms.
Some people with a clinical diagnosis of a mental health condition such as PTSD, anxiety, or depression may also benefit from medication treatment.
Get Individualized Trauma Treatment at Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada
It’s crucial that providers treating trauma take a personalized approach. Our trauma-informed providers will work closely with you to navigate any potential needs, fears, or treatment barriers and create a comfortable healing environment where your sense of safety is prioritized.
We offer a full continuum of care for trauma survivors and others in need of mental health support. Treatment options at Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada include inpatient, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient therapy programs. These programs use evidence-based treatments to alleviate and reduce symptoms among trauma survivors.
In trauma treatment, you’ll identify how past trauma impacts your current life. From there, you’ll learn coping skills, how to listen to yourself and your intuition, and other essential parts of the healing process, such as how to build and maintain healthy relationships with other people.
All of our clients have unique goals. We firmly believe that each client has the most valuable insights into their situation and are here to help you achieve the personal growth and healing that you need to thrive.
Call Icarus in Nevada for Comprehensive Trauma Treatment
Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada is a treatment center in Las Vegas. Our comprehensive team of medical and mental health professionals provides specialized care for people overcoming trauma, as well as substance abuse and other mental health concerns.
To learn more about how Icarus Behavioral Health Nevada can help you or a loved one in trauma recovery, please call our confidential admissions line today.
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FAQs Regarding Trauma Symptoms and Treatment
Do I have trauma, or am I overreacting?
Many trauma survivors wonder if their traumatic memories are “serious enough” to count as trauma or warrant help. If something affects your mental health, quality of life, or daily life functioning–including at work, school, in interpersonal relationships, or in other parts of life–seeking professional help is worthwhile.
How do I know if I have PTSD officially?
A mental health professional, like a psychiatrist, who is qualified to diagnose mental disorders can provide you with an official evaluation and PTSD diagnosis.