UNDERSTANDING THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN BETRAYAL TRAUMA AND PTSD

It’s natural to experience lingering effects after you’ve gone through a traumatic event. Betrayal trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are tow conditions that people often experience after specific traumas occur in their lives.

While the two conditions are the result of different causes, research shows that their symptoms and triggers are similar – so much so that the two conditions mirror each other. This is significant because it helps us better understand betrayal trauma and the intensity of its symptoms, as well as effective treatment methods.

Betrayal trauma is a condition that is specific to victims of betrayal, such as infidelity, financial fraud, or emotional abuse. PTSD, on the other hand, is a condition that can be caused by any traumatic experience, including exposure to violence or death. If you are struggling with either of these conditions, it is imperative to reach out to professionals for help.

CRITERIA FOR PTSD

PTSD has five generally accepted conditions that must be met for diagnosis. These criteria must be present for atleast one month and cause significant challenges to the victim’s life:

1.       Life-Threatening Experience

The traumatic event must have included the threat of death or serious injury, including the threat of sexual violence, physical abuse, or serious injury.

2.       Reliving the Event

The individual relieves the event in nightmares and dreams, or feels like the occasion is stuck in their head; they struggle to think of other things, can’t get the event out of their mind, and relieve the event over and over again.

3.       Avoidance

The victim avoids triggering people and circumstances. They may avoid or have difficulty being in public places, struggle to participate in hobbies they had previously enjoyed, avoid sexual intimacy with their partner, or engage in behaviors that distract their thoughts, such as excessive reading, sleeping, eating, or drinking.

4.       Negative Moods and Conditions

The victim suffers from depression, anxiety, or both; has a distorted sense of self (is stuck in negative beliefs such as “I am a bad person,” “I’m not good enough,” or “I don’t belong anymore”); or self isolates.

5.       Emotional Arousal and Reactivity

The individual has emotional reactions due to the trauma, such as overwhelmingly intense emotions, anger, suicidal thoughts, difficulty sleeping, or hyper-vigilance in monitoring their partner’s behavior.

Betrayal trauma often meets every one of these conditions, from the initial traumatic experience itself to the impactful and lingering emotional responses.

WHAT THE SIMILARITIES MEAN FOR TREATING PTSD AND BETRAYAL TRAUMA

Individuals who experience betrayal trauma typically don’t expect their loss to affective them so intensely; some individuals feel as though they are going crazy or having a meltdown when they can’t escape the systoms of their trauma.

First, it is normal and common to experience these symptoms after a betrayal. Experiencing the death of what is sometimes a lifelong relationship in such an unexpected or violent way can be just as painful and traumatizing as a soldier seeing their comrade die on the battlefield. A trauma response is not merely an overreaction.

Second, although these symptoms are a normal response to suffering betrayal trauma, there is treatment available that works.

Understanding the similarities between PTSD and betrayal trauma has helped experts to develop treatment methods that work to alleviate the symptoms of trauma.

BETRAYAL TRAUMA TREATMENT

There are many interventions for each of the criteria for PTSD and betryala trauma that are proven to be successful. These interventions have been scientifically documented, and they’re what we employ to alleviate the conditions and symptoms of betrayal trauma.

If you, or someone you know is struggling with betrayal trauma or PTSD, please reach out for help.