However, for 3.5 percent of adults, their nervous systems get “stuck” in a perpetual mental space of stress and anxiety long after the traumatic event, which eventually develops into PTSD. Intrusive memories involve mental imagery-based impressions that intrude into mind involuntarily, and are emotional. If their attempt to fight or flight is unsuccessful, an individual may either “freeze” or “fawn.” With the freeze response, their body becomes temporarily paralyzed with fear when assessing the situation, while the fawn response characterizes behavior in which a person complies with the threat to save themselves.įor most people, these innate alerts typically subside once they return to safety. Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be distressing and disruptive, and comprise a core clinical feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Examples of these circumstances include war combat, sexual assault, a serious accident, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or any other traumatic situation that disrupts a person’s sense of safety or puts their lives at risk.Īs this disturbing situation occurs, a person’s nervous system will trigger their fight-or-flight response, a primal reaction to danger that prepares their body to stay and face the threat (fight) or run away from danger (flight) by increasing their heart rate, tightening their muscles, and raising their blood pressure. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychological condition that can develop after a person witnesses or experiences a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
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