Overwhelming life experiences can range from single events like car accidents, assaults, sudden deaths, or medical diagnoses, to ongoing traumas such as childhood abuse, violence, duty-induced stress, or betrayal. Whether sudden or ongoing, historical or recent, any experience of trauma event can increase the risk of developing PTSD.
But trauma doesn’t always show up as a diagnosis. Many post-trauma responses just linger—physically, emotionally, or relationally. If something in you hasn’t fully settled, you’re not imagining it—and you don’t have to stay stuck there.