When you talk to a therapist to help PTSD symptoms, they may explain to you that there are several stages of the condition. There isn’t universal agreement on how many stages, but many will tell you about 5 different stages of PTSD. What are these different stages? Understanding PTSD and how it works is a key part to overcoming its effects. It can be a very disruptive problem in one’s life, and knowing about the stages is a good way for sufferers to understand how their therapy and processing of their trauma is progressing.
Stage 1: Impact or Emergency
This is the earliest stage that immediately follows the traumatic event in question. It will see the sufferer struggle to process physically and emotionally what they have seen and/or experienced. One particular emotion that characterises this stage of PTSD is an overwhelming sense of fear, as well as shock, extreme anxiety, and a feeling of helplessness and/or powerlessness.
Guilt will also likely take hold within this first emergency stage. This guilt and the remaining symptoms will remain with the sufferer for an undetermined period, anywhere from just a few minutes to possibly hours or even days after the event depending on what it was and how long it went on.
Stage 2: Denial
This stage is also known by some as the “numb” phase where an individual may also try to create distance between themselves and the traumatic event by denying its effects both physical and emotional. The denial stage typically results in enduring depression, as well as confusion and fatigue. The sufferer may express feelings of being empty or like a void, but could also re-experience the trauma through flashbacks and nightmares.
Invariably, the denial stage is thought of as the brain trying to protect itself from the devastating emotional and mental impact of whatever has occurred. BY trying to separate oneself from the event, we believe we shield ourselves from it, but if allowed to go on for too long, it can have worse effects on the sufferer.
Stage 3: Intrusive/Repetitive
The third stage is also sometimes called “Rescue” and is where the sufferer has begun to come to terms with what has happened to them and may be ready to start facing elements of it more directly. This could involve, for example, returning to the site where the event happened. On the one hand, it is a hopeful stage because it marks the beginning of a potentially constructive stage of recovery. On the other hand, it can also be dangerous for its destructive potential.
The rescue stage is all about a sufferer confronting what has happened and then choosing pathways on how to deal with it. With support and guidance, it will hopefully lead to one allowing a more constructive process to occur to help them process their many feelings and emotions. The trouble, however, is that many use options like drugs, medication and alcohol to self-medicate, altering their mind to escape from the troubling reality of the trauma. Therefore, proper care and support at this stage is the most crucial.
Stage 4: Transition
This is the most hopeful stage where the sufferer has made a conscious decision to pursue active and constructive recovery strategies. It begins with an active recovery mindset and then usually coincides with engagement in therapy and other recovery programs. It’s not to say that there aren’t still bumps in the road ahead, but it at least secures the acknowledgement of the sufferer that what is needed is an active approach to recovery.
Stage 5: Long-Term Recovery
In this final stage, sufferers will move from their transitional recovery stage where they receive more structured help from therapists to a more self-led recovery path. They will use their own coping strategies to help them return to a normal life where they can regularly go to work, maintain their own household and personal hygiene, set goals, manage their symptoms and return to regular and meaningful interpersonal interactions with friends, loved ones and strangers.