Do you need to talk about your trauma? A specialist in PTSD explains

More than half of Americans will say that they have experienced a major trauma at some point in their lives: their lives have been threatened, they have become powerless and their sense of normalcy has been broken. Be raped, stolen under the threat of a firearm; survive a serious car accident; escape a deadly fire; or seeing a spouse, child or parent being brutally assaulted are just a few examples of the types of trauma that millions of Americans survive each year.

For the vast majority of trauma survivors, once the danger has decreased, the distress is natural. They may feel nervous, have nightmares and be overwhelmed by traumatic memories. They may feel like this for hours, days, or weeks, but humans, by design, are psychologically resilient. The clear majority will heal, organically, with the tincture of time.

A significant minority, however, will not heal naturally. Although they are no longer in danger, they are unable to transcend their traumatic past. Instead, they suffer daily invisible injuries from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At any time, 6 million Americans live with active symptoms of PTSD that require professional attention in mental health.

PTSD is a condition known to cause nightmares, flashbacks and an exaggerated surprise response. In other words, PTSD is largely a memory disorder. An essential function of the human brain is to consolidate our memories. This process involves stabilizing memories and allowing them to mature and mature. After a traumatic event, the consolidation process moves up a gear. It is this overconsolidation that gives traumatic memories their living and unforgettable quality. These traumatic memories can encroach in a very visual way on a survivor's life for weeks, months, or even years later, and involve reliving the trauma. These involuntary intrusions can be so intense that they have been described as indelible images.

Too often, I meet people who live silently with PTSD, without talking to anyone about their trauma or seeking professional help. Unfortunately, their silence often has a huge personal cost.