Can physical trauma cause emotional trauma? It is entirely natural to carry emotional scarring after a traumatic physical event. In times of distress, any episode that places your life, those of your loved ones or your livelihood at risk can lead to emotional or psychological trauma. In turn, this trauma can temporarily or permanently disrupt day-to-day functionality. Understanding the way emotional trauma manifests and how to combat it can reduce its effects.

Emotional and psychological effects of physical injury

Physical injury happens in multiple ways. Whether you’ve experienced a car accident, taken a bad fall, been a victim of violence or injured yourself on the sports field, coping with a long-term or permanent injury is difficult. Like losing a job or a loved one disrupts life as you know it, a physical injury can cause lasting emotional trauma.

Every person responds differently to life events, so there is no set standard for how you or somebody close to you might react to, for example, a broken bone, a long-term spinal injury, or wounds resulting from a physical assault. Some typical emotional reactions to extreme physical trauma, depending on the cause’s nature, include:

• Constant alertness and suspicion
• Emotional numbness
• Extreme fatigue and tiredness
• Over-protectiveness toward those closest
• Stress and anxiety
• Aggression and other evident emotions
• Agoraphobia – fear of public places
• Unexplainable moodiness

These reactions can combine with or include periods of panic, shock, detachment, withdrawal, constant alarm, oversensitivity, and depression. Your appetite could change, and you may lose touch with your everyday routines and habits. 

Depending on your nature, you could become absorbed in your recovery with a constant focus on the event or sidestep reminders of it altogether. Sleeping patterns often change – you might stay in bed or experience insomnia all night. Trauma injury victims may turn to alcohol or substances to numb traumatic memories. 

How to comprehend what happened

Depending on your nature, you may be unable to leave the event alone, becoming infatuated with how or why it occurred and what you could have done differently to avoid the injury. Conversely, you could shut it out and refuse to acknowledge it as if it never happened. While the injury’s presence is a constant reminder, you could avoid the emotions associated with it.

Many traumatic reactions abate in time, but resolving others helps the emotional healing process. Seeking assistance from loyal and loving companions can lessen your emotional burden. Who you are will define the steps you need to take to move through your experience. The following are some ways that could help you navigate emotional trauma after a bad physical injury:

• Confide in and share your emotions with loved ones.
• Understand your trauma and the reaction to your injury.
• Confront your injury slowly and assess your life improvement steps going forward.
• Take time to rest and occupy your mind with pleasant tasks.
• Hold off on big decisions until you are ready.
• Exercise when and how you can to revitalise your mind and stay active.
• Journal your thoughts and feelings to release them from your mind.
• Stick to a consistent routine as much as possible.
• Visit places and people you enjoy to prevent the trauma from ruling your life.
• Believe you are managing and improving a little every day.
• Practice relaxing – do yoga or meditate, listen to music, and breathe.
• Avoid overusing alcohol, coffee, and other stimulants that could be detrimental.
• Most of all, accept that your injury happened and that your present feelings are temporary.

An ASD diagnosis to consider

Although many people beat their emotional trauma through willpower and the help of family and friends, there are times when the extent of the injury and the surrounding circumstances mean seeking professional help. Doing so isn’t a weakness – admitting you need assistance actually portrays a strength few possess. 

After experiencing devastating physical injuries, developing conditions like acute stress disorder (ASD) is common. Although ASD is most common in people with a traumatic history, a level of the disorder could happen to anyone within the first month of a bad physical event, primarily if an injury resulted from a violent act like an assault. 

ASD, in itself, is a natural and effectively treatable short-term disorder. However, without adequate treatment, it can be the precursor to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an altogether more serious and long-lasting affliction. 

How to recognise and treat ASD

ASD involves stress responses, many the same as the physical injury’s emotional and physical effects previously mentioned. ASD stress indicators will likely include feeling numb or fearful, anxious, and looking to avoid reminders of the event. Responses could involve flashbacks and nightmares involving the trauma. People of any age can experience ASD.

Experts believe that ASD involves fear conditioning, meaning your body responds fearfully to stimuli that trigger memories of the event. In other words, if you were in a car accident and were drinking a soda brand at the time, a similar can of soda could prompt a fear response. While most trauma cases respond to fear conditioning with extinction learning, which reduces these traumatic prompts slowly, extreme ones could develop PTSD as a result.

A professional healthcare provider will diagnose ASD via a psychosocial assessment before predominantly treating the disorder with psychotherapy or talk therapy. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is also an effective form of treatment for severe ASD cases. 

If you present with symptoms of ASD, it is better to err on the safe side and receive a professional assessment. If you’re coping with your emotional trauma and making improvements, you’ll likely be fine continuing as you are. While ASD and, thankfully, PTSD are not prevalent in most emotional trauma cases following injury, it helps to be aware of their realities.

Emotional trauma following injury is real 

Only once you experience a severe and debilitating injury can you understand the courage and motivation to first live with the physical affliction and then cope with its resulting traumatic emotional consequences. Those who physically recover understand the psychological and mental challenges faced in doing so, while those with irreparable damage find ways to adapt to lives incorporating their new realities.

Dealing with the accompanying emotional trauma is often more challenging than with the physical injury itself, but you can do so with the power of perseverance, bravery, and mental fortitude.

Tim Fawnshaw, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.