Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesTypes of Traumatic ShockDiagnosing Traumatic ShockTreatmentCoping

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Symptoms

Causes

Types of Traumatic Shock

Diagnosing Traumatic Shock

Treatment

Coping

Close

Trauma shock is any sudden, terrible experience that disrupts your well-being and overwhelms you. A traumatic experience can shock your system, causing you to go into a state ofdissociation, where your body and mind feel disconnected and nothing feels real.

At a GlanceAfter a trauma, it’s common for people to experience overwhelming physical and emotional reactions. This helps blunt your awareness of the pain but can also come with distressing symptoms like chills, shakiness, changes in blood pressure, rapid breathing, fear, and panic. In this article, we’ll explore some symptoms people often experience and what can cause them. We’ll also cover some coping strategies to help you regain your equilibrium.

At a Glance

After a trauma, it’s common for people to experience overwhelming physical and emotional reactions. This helps blunt your awareness of the pain but can also come with distressing symptoms like chills, shakiness, changes in blood pressure, rapid breathing, fear, and panic. In this article, we’ll explore some symptoms people often experience and what can cause them. We’ll also cover some coping strategies to help you regain your equilibrium.

Symptoms of Traumatic Shock

Traumacan cause a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms. However, every individual reacts to it differently.

Physical Symptoms

These are some of the physical symptoms that may accompany traumatic shock:

Emotional Symptoms

These are some of the emotional symptoms that may accompany traumatic shock:

The dissociative state typically lasts for a short time, such as a few minutes or hours; however, in some cases of repeated or prolonged trauma, it can persist for a much longer period of time.

Afterward, it’s not uncommon for the person to be preoccupied with the event, forget it entirely, or have flashbacks or nightmares of it.

What Causes Traumatic Shock?

While anything that significantly disrupts your emotional equilibrium can be considered a traumatic event, these are some examples of events that can cause traumatic shock:

What Is Unresolved Trauma?

Traumatic shock can be categorized into different types, depending on how it affects the brain and body.

Dissociative Shock

Traumatic events can sometimes cause a person to go into shock and disconnect from either themselves or the people around them. People who experiencedissociative shockmay feel disconnected from reality, suffer memory loss, or develop dissociative disorders.

Medical Trauma

Certain physical injuries or illnesses can be traumatic for the body and cause the person to go into a state of shock. These are the different types of shock, medically speaking:

While these types of shock are medical conditions, they can also affect us emotionally and vice versa because the body and mind areinterlinked.

For instance, someone who has been shot at or been in a car accident may have severe blood loss and go into hypovolemic shock; however, they may also sustain severe emotional trauma. Similarly, someone who receives devastating news or experiences a trauma may have a heart attack and go into cardiac shock.

These conditions are medical emergencies that can be life-threatening and need to be treated right away. If someone has sustained a medical injury, call 911 immediately.

If you or a loved one have experienced an emotional trauma and are struggling to cope with it, it’s important to seek help from a healthcare professional, ideally someone who specializes intreating trauma.

The healthcare professional will assess your condition and symptoms, perform any tests or exams required, diagnose your condition and its severity, refer you to a specialist if needed, and chart out a treatment plan for you.

Depending on your symptoms and the amount of time it has been since the traumatic event, you may be diagnosed with:

Signs of Childhood Trauma in Adults

How Is Emotional Trauma Treated?

Treatment for emotional trauma may involve:

Depending on the circumstances, treatment may be administered on an inpatient, outpatient, or partial hospitalization basis.

Press Play for Advice on Healing From TraumaThis episode ofThe Verywell Mind Podcast, featuring psychiatrist Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, shares science-backed strategies to heal from trauma. Click below to listen now.

Press Play for Advice on Healing From Trauma

This episode ofThe Verywell Mind Podcast, featuring psychiatrist Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, shares science-backed strategies to heal from trauma. Click below to listen now.

Coping With Traumatic Shock

These are some coping strategies that can help you if you are dealing with a traumatic event that has shocked you:

Understanding Trauma Bonding

Keep in Mind

If you are struggling todeal with the trauma, you can seek help from a licensed healthcare professional, who can help you process it and equip you with the skills you need to cope.

How Exposure Therapy Can Treat PTSD

14 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kleber RJ.Trauma and public mental health: A focused review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:451. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00451Krause-Utz A, Frost R, Winter D, Elzinga BM.Dissociation and alterations in brain function and structure.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017;19(1):6. doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0757-yMIT Medical.Common reactions to traumatic events.Lanius RA.Trauma-related dissociation and altered states of consciousness: a call for clinical, treatment, and neuroscience research.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2015;6:27905. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.27905El-Solh AA.Management of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: Current perspectives.Nat Sci Sleep. 2018;10:409-420. doi:10.2147/NSS.S166089American Psychological Association.Trauma and shock.Cénat JM.Complex racial trauma: Evidence, theory, assessment, and treatment.Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023;18(3):675-687. doi:10.1177/17456916221120428Boyer SM, Caplan JE, Edwards LK.Trauma-related dissociation and the dissociative disorders: Neglected symptoms with severe public health consequences.Dela J Public Health. 2022;8(2):78-84.doi:10.32481/djph.2022.05.010Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Acute stress disorder.National Institute of Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Key ingredients for successfultrauma-informed care implementation.Lake Behavioral Hospital.Recognizing the signs and symptoms of emotional psychological trauma.

14 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kleber RJ.Trauma and public mental health: A focused review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:451. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00451Krause-Utz A, Frost R, Winter D, Elzinga BM.Dissociation and alterations in brain function and structure.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017;19(1):6. doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0757-yMIT Medical.Common reactions to traumatic events.Lanius RA.Trauma-related dissociation and altered states of consciousness: a call for clinical, treatment, and neuroscience research.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2015;6:27905. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.27905El-Solh AA.Management of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: Current perspectives.Nat Sci Sleep. 2018;10:409-420. doi:10.2147/NSS.S166089American Psychological Association.Trauma and shock.Cénat JM.Complex racial trauma: Evidence, theory, assessment, and treatment.Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023;18(3):675-687. doi:10.1177/17456916221120428Boyer SM, Caplan JE, Edwards LK.Trauma-related dissociation and the dissociative disorders: Neglected symptoms with severe public health consequences.Dela J Public Health. 2022;8(2):78-84.doi:10.32481/djph.2022.05.010Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Acute stress disorder.National Institute of Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Key ingredients for successfultrauma-informed care implementation.Lake Behavioral Hospital.Recognizing the signs and symptoms of emotional psychological trauma.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Kleber RJ.Trauma and public mental health: A focused review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:451. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00451Krause-Utz A, Frost R, Winter D, Elzinga BM.Dissociation and alterations in brain function and structure.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017;19(1):6. doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0757-yMIT Medical.Common reactions to traumatic events.Lanius RA.Trauma-related dissociation and altered states of consciousness: a call for clinical, treatment, and neuroscience research.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2015;6:27905. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.27905El-Solh AA.Management of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: Current perspectives.Nat Sci Sleep. 2018;10:409-420. doi:10.2147/NSS.S166089American Psychological Association.Trauma and shock.Cénat JM.Complex racial trauma: Evidence, theory, assessment, and treatment.Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023;18(3):675-687. doi:10.1177/17456916221120428Boyer SM, Caplan JE, Edwards LK.Trauma-related dissociation and the dissociative disorders: Neglected symptoms with severe public health consequences.Dela J Public Health. 2022;8(2):78-84.doi:10.32481/djph.2022.05.010Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Acute stress disorder.National Institute of Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Key ingredients for successfultrauma-informed care implementation.Lake Behavioral Hospital.Recognizing the signs and symptoms of emotional psychological trauma.

Kleber RJ.Trauma and public mental health: A focused review.Front Psychiatry. 2019;10:451. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00451

Krause-Utz A, Frost R, Winter D, Elzinga BM.Dissociation and alterations in brain function and structure.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017;19(1):6. doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0757-y

MIT Medical.Common reactions to traumatic events.

Lanius RA.Trauma-related dissociation and altered states of consciousness: a call for clinical, treatment, and neuroscience research.Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2015;6:27905. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.27905

El-Solh AA.Management of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: Current perspectives.Nat Sci Sleep. 2018;10:409-420. doi:10.2147/NSS.S166089

American Psychological Association.Trauma and shock.

Cénat JM.Complex racial trauma: Evidence, theory, assessment, and treatment.Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023;18(3):675-687. doi:10.1177/17456916221120428

Boyer SM, Caplan JE, Edwards LK.Trauma-related dissociation and the dissociative disorders: Neglected symptoms with severe public health consequences.Dela J Public Health. 2022;8(2):78-84.doi:10.32481/djph.2022.05.010

Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W.The nomenclature, definition and distinction of types of shock.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018;115(45):757-768. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Cardiogenic shock.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Acute stress disorder.

National Institute of Mental Health.Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Key ingredients for successful

trauma-informed care implementation.

Lake Behavioral Hospital.Recognizing the signs and symptoms of emotional psychological trauma.

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?