The Link Between Physical Trauma and Mental Health

The Link Between Physical Trauma and Mental Health

By Dylan Bartlett

By Dylan Bartlett

Contributed article written for NAMIDaneCounty.org

Most people are aware that mental and emotional trauma can cause mental health conditions. However, physical harm also has a hand in triggering psychological disorders. These three dimensions often coincide, and it can be difficult to tell which component is the direct cause of mental illness. There’s often there's no straightforward answer, as trauma victims often point to all three.  

An increasing amount of research has shown more explicit links between physical trauma and mental health. Injuries harm the body, but they also harm the mind. Some people may ignore this link in favor of only treating the physical damage, as it's easier to contend with bodily pain than mental distress. Others lack the knowledge to know how closely the two relate. 

Ultimately, their connection is undeniable. Not every injury results in mental health issues, but many do.

Range of Injuries

Physical trauma results from a wide range of causes, including car accidents, sports and workplace injuries.

Athletes often struggle with injuries because many of them rely on a sport for their livelihood. Student-athletes tend to identify themselves as competitors before anything else, and being put on the sidelines can be a massive hit to their identities. 

Although many mental health symptoms relating to sports injuries manifest immediately, some individuals don't experience the stress until well after it occurs. Psychological distress can appear anywhere from shortly after occurrence to the time when physical activity begins again.

Sports injuries usually heal efficiently, allowing individuals to get back on the field in due time. If the damage is more serious, however, it's not unusual for mental health issues to arise. Athletes may deny themselves food or treatment, thinking they don't deserve it because of their "failure." 

These maladaptive coping strategies can spiral into eating disorders and depression. People may have a particularly difficult time handling concussions. This type of injury has no established recovery time and can impact cognitive abilities.

Car accidents can cause any injury, from a sprain to a broken bone. Minimal wounds heal faster, but individuals may have to deal with medical bills, insurance issues and vehicle repair for months afterward, which causes a tremendous amount of stress. Acquaintances may expect them to recover from a small physical injury in a short time while neglecting the psychological ramifications. 

More intense trauma can cause chronic pain, which has a link to the development of PTSD — something that 15% to 35% of chronic pain sufferers deal with. 

PTSD

Any traumatic incident can cause PTSD, a disorder that researchers once considered a form of anxiety. It's now known as a stand-alone condition, with anxiety being one of many symptoms. Other characteristics include flashbacks, nightmares and avoidance. 

People with PTSD fear returning to places where their trauma occurred or ending up in similar situations. They may experience flashbacks after encountering a trigger, which makes them feel as if they're reliving the entire incident again.

Intrusive thoughts and frequent nightmares can make a person living with PTSD feel they lack control over their life. This sends them into a state of hyperarousal to protect themselves against future threats. Others struggle with remembering the traumatic incident and recall few details — if any.

A current injury can't be avoided or forgotten until after it heals, which can cause significant stress for people with PTSD. Subsequently, those with chronic conditions may have a more challenging time coping with PTSD.

Physical injuries can cause this disorder, but the condition itself also encourages new illnesses. Some of these include cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive disease. Some researchers have associated PTSD with lowered regulation of the ventral vagal complex, which controls the heart, lungs and digestive tract.

Depression

A study revealed that people suffering from a mild traumatic brain injury were more likely to report symptoms of major depression or PTSD three to six months post-injury. Only 8.7% of participants in the same study — who suffered orthopedic injuries without mTBI — reported the same symptoms. This finding suggests that certain types of physical trauma encourage mental health issues more than others.

People with TBIs suffer psychiatric disorders at higher rates than the rest of the population, and 29.4% of patients deal with major depression in the first year post-injury. They often struggle in other areas, such as socializing and performing basic tasks. Patients remain at risk for depression for 20 to 30 years afterward, and relapses are frequent.

Both mTBIs and TBIs can impact memory, learning and reasoning. Someone who has never experienced diminished cognitive functioning will likely find this sudden outcome devastating. They may endure persistent feelings of sadness, fatigue, irritability and mood swings — all symptoms of depression, but also effects that TBIs can cause on their own.

Treatment Options

Treating physical damage is only one part of the equation when mental health is involved. The other half consists of addressing psychological issues and finding methods to dampen or eliminate symptoms. Successful recovery is impossible without adequately treating both physical and mental trauma. 

A comprehensive treatment system consisting of mental, emotional and bodily parameters is the best way to tackle such situations. An example of such a method might include CBT for major depression and neurological physical therapy to treat a TBI.

Those with PTSD can benefit from prolonged exposure therapy, CBT and stress inoculation training. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications help reduce symptoms, though individuals should always speak with their primary doctor first. Psychiatric drugs may react with medications one takes for chronic pain or other physical conditions.

Mental and Physical Health Remain Intertwined

As scientists conduct research, the links between physical injury and mental health conditions become more visible. The increased knowledge sheds light on individuals who struggle with psychological functioning after major or minor injuries. Thankfully, comprehensive treatments exist for managing these problems despite their severity.