The Most Widespread Psychological Injuries and Their Impact

A psychological injury is a disturbance in a person’s cognitive, behavioural and emotional that occurs as a reaction to negative experiences, like a traumatic incident or a period of prolonged stress. They’re hard to detect, because they don’t present like physical injuries – they’re completely invisible. They can often develop gradually over the course of many months or even years, but sometimes boil to the surface quickly after a significant event, like the death of a loved one.

There is a wide variety of psychological injuries that vary wildly in intensity and how they present, but here are the most prominent types.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

A psychological injury that’s potentially seen the most significant bump in exposure in the past 20 years, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ( commonly referred to as PTSD), develops in individuals after they experience traumatic events. This often leads to nightmares, intrusive memories, and emotional distress – especially when they are exposed to triggers that remind them of the event.

The traumatic event itself might involve violence, extreme stress, abuse, or pertain to a single tragic event, like an accident at work. If you feel that you might be suffering from PTSD as a result of an accident at work, you should seek legal support and make a psychological injuries claim.

Those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder respond differently, and the disorder can present differently in people; some people respond by locking out others and acting emotionally distant, while others are hypersensitive and constantly on edge.

Depression

Likely the most commonly recognised and diagnosed psychological injury, Depression isn’t just about sadness. Sadness is a normal emotional response, while depression is a relentless, prolonged period of low mood where sufferers are prone to feelings of self-loathing, worthlessness, and a loss of passion and pleasure in life.

With it being such a widespread affliction, depression has a myriad of different causes, including chronic stress, grief after the death of a loved one, the birth of a child (Postnatal Depression), and loneliness. Depression isn’t just about mental health, as it can also manifest in aspects of a person’s physical health, like appetite, sleep, and the effectiveness of their immune system.

Anxiety

Similar to depression are Anxiety Disorders, not only in how each presents, but also in their relation to a normal human emotional response. To a degree, we all feel anxiety’s claws dig in from time to time, but those with anxiety disorders feel excessive fears that are not proportionate to actual situations. Symptoms can include a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

Anxiety Disorders, like generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and various phobias, can develop in individuals following stress-inducing life events, or as a learned response to perceived threats – often picked up during childhood. Long-term sufferers can exhibit more extreme traits, as even their willingness to engage in normal daily activities becomes limited, which only serves to escalate their symptoms further.

Closing Thoughts

If we make an effort to understand the most common psychological injuries better, we can reduce the stigma that surrounds them and encourage people to seek help sooner. If you feel that you might be suffering from a psychological injury as a result of prolonged stress in your workplace, or even an avoidable accident that took place, you should seek support from specialists, like Bond Turner.