No one would argue against the fact that divorce is a difficult and even traumatizing experience for those involved, leaving potential life-long emotional and mental scars. But did you know that the impact and force of a divorce can actually cause mental health issues?
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, commonly ends up associated with soldiers returning from war or other gory and gruesome jobs. But it can actually happen to anyone who goes through any sort of traumatic event, and this includes emotionally traumatizing ones like divorce.
What is PTSD?
Mayo Clinic examines symptoms of PTSD. First, note that divorce is very real and tangible as a source of stress, with one stress scale saying it is only comparable to the death of a spouse in terms of marriage-related stresses.
With that in mind, some people who work in the mental health industry believe it is entirely possible for a divorcee to experience PTSD. Others, however, believe that PTSD serves a more physically tangible type of trauma, and only applies to those who face “something life-threatening” or a potential “threat to bodily integrity”.
Symptoms of PTSD
However, it is undeniable that many psychologists have discovered PTSD-like symptoms in all manner of divorcees. These symptoms can occur during or after divorce and often include things like paranoia, aggression, destructive or risky behavior, loss of interest in all or most activities and trouble sleeping or concentrating.
Some are more prone to these symptoms than others, including people who have experienced trauma in the past and those who go through drawn-out, expensive and life-altering divorces. Seeking the help of someone in the mental health industry is one way to see where you potentially fall.
