Intrusive Symptoms
Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, RMT, edited by C. E. Zupanick, Psy.D.Intrusive symptoms were previously called re-experiencing symptoms in older editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). People experiencing these intrusive symptoms describe it as though they are right back there, reliving (re-experiencing) the trauma all over again. These are called intrusive symptoms because they are unwanted, unbidden, and therefore, involuntary. Intrusive symptoms may be indicated in several ways:
1. Involuntary, distressing images, thoughts, or memories;
2. Flashbacks or dissociative reactions where it seems as if the trauma is reoccurring;
3. Distressing dreams and/or nightmares related in content or emotion to the trauma;
4. Intense psychological distress at reminders of the trauma,
5. Intense physiological distress, often referred to as body memory or body cues.
Let's take a look at each major symptom area and consider some examples of how each may manifest in an adult or a child.
Resources
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Articles
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Introduction to Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders
- Introduction to PTSD, Trauma, Abuse and Other Stress-Related Disorders
- What Are Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders?
- Physical and Emotional Trauma
- How is Trauma Different from Stress?
- What are Adverse Life Experiences?
- Can Grief and Loss Be Traumatic?
- Are Abuse and Neglect Types of Trauma?
- What is Complex Trauma?
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Signs and Symptoms of Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders
- What are the Signs and Symptoms of Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders?
- Intrusive Symptoms
- Distressing Images, Thoughts, Memories
- Flashbacks, Dissociative Reactions
- Distressing Dreams and Nightmares
- Intense or Prolonged Psychological Distress
- Physiological Distress or Body Memory
- Intrusive Symptoms: Children's Re-Enactment As Re-Experiencing
- Avoidance Symptoms
- Negative Thoughts and Feelings: The Cognitions and Mood Symptoms
- Arousal and Reactivity Symptoms
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Diagnostic Descriptions of Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders
- The Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders: Diagnostic Descriptions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Criteria
- Acute Stress Disorder Criteria
- Adjustment Disorders Criteria
- Reactive Attachment Disorder & Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder Criteria
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What Causes the Symptoms of Trauma-Related Disorders?
- What Causes the Symptoms of Trauma-Related Disorders?
- Trauma and the Triune Brain
- Reptilian Brain of Survival and Mammalian Brain
- Trauma and the Neomammalian Brain (Cerebral Cortex)
- Trauma's Physical and Emotional Toll on the Body
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Treatment of Trauma, PTSD, Abuse and Other Stressor-Related Disorders
- The Treatment of Trauma, PTSD, Abuse, and Other Stressor-related Disorders
- Revolutionary New Treatments For PTSD, Trauma, Abuse, and Other Stress-Related Disorders
- The Basic Framework of Trauma Treatment and Recovery
- Finding and Choosing a Trauma Therapist
- Evidence-Based Practices: How Do I Know If a Trauma Treatment Is Effective?
- Traditional Cognitive Therapies
- Hybrid Cognitive Therapies: Mindfulness and Cognitive Therapy
- Exposure and Visualization Therapies
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Related Approaches
- Body, Movement & Expressive Arts Therapies
- Energy Therapies & Other Innovative Approaches
- Feedback-Informed Treatment
- Medication for Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders
- Combination Models on the SAMHSA Registry
- A Final Note on Treatment Options
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Conclusion, Resources and References
- Resilience, Resolution, Reconciliation, and Recovery: Some Closing Remarks
- Helpful Websites
- References
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Dealing with the Effects of Trauma - A Self-Help Guide
- Dealing with the Effects of Trauma Introduction
- Help From Health Care Providers, Counselors and Groups
- Things You Can Do Every Day to Help Yourself Feel Better
- The Healing Journey
- Moving Forward on Your Healing Journey
- Further Resources
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Introduction to Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders
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News
- Study Probes Causes of Anger in Returning U.S. Soldiers
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Questions and Answers
- Multiple Sex Abuse as a Child
- Feel Like Something's Wrong
- Self Hate
- Is This a Flashback?
- Does My Boyfriend Have a Personality Disorder?
- I Am Wondering What Could be Wrong With Me?
- Past Following me For the Worse
- Am I Depressed?
- Depressed, Anxious and Dead Inside...Please Help!
- Broken
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46 more
- My Husbands Roller Coaster of Proper Hygiene: Is it Depression?
- I Can't function Normally Anymore, Can More Diagnoses issues Risk Survival?
- PTSD vs. DID
- Abused As A Child and Now It's Ruining My Life
- Just Want to Die
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- Please Help Me!
- Boyfriend
- Why Am I Thinking Like This?
- PTSD
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- PTSD
- Help
- Dissociation events
- How do you turn your back on your 19 year old daughter?
- What is going on?
- Please help.
- Why
- How do I help my husband with anger issues since he has been back from Iraq.
- I have PTSD and I feel nothing
- Tolerating emotion
- PTSD since childhood, with no memory of trauma?
- I get paralysed and cant do anything
- Repressed Memory
- My Husband\'s confusion and inability to make correct lifestyle decisions
- Death of both parents
- Healthy sexuality not instinctual for me after abusive situations
- What would this be
- visions of what could have been
- about depersonalization
- Amnesia
- My friend needs help that I can\'t give,can you help me?
- Relationship Between Dissociation, DID and PTSD
- Bi-polar with PTSD
- Is there a difference between abuse and trauma?
- Fear Of Remembering Things
- Living With PTSD
- Emotional Orphan
- PTSD Getting Worse
- Will I Have To Deal With PTSD For The Rest Of My Life?
- Is It Really Panic? And How Do We Get Help
- I Don't Recall Any Trauma
- PTSD and Night Terrors
- I Can't Tell a Lie
- Abuse and Trauma
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Book & Media Reviews
- A War of Nerves
- Afterwar
- Bereft
- Children Changed by Trauma
- Conquering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology
- Faking Normal
- Helping Children Cope With Disasters and Terrorism
- In an Unspoken Voice
- Lovely Green Eyes
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18 more
- New York September 11
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Raising Kids in an Age of Terror
- Remaking a World
- Remembering Trauma
- Roadmap to Resilience
- Spectral Evidence
- The Heart of Trauma
- The Limits of Autobiography
- The Little Friend
- The Only Girl in the World
- The September 11 Photo Project
- Trauma in the Lives of Children
- Traumatic Pasts
- Traumatic Relationships and Serious Mental Disorders
- What Have We Done
- With Their Eyes
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Links
- [1] Articles
- [2] Associations
- [1] Community
- [8] Information
- [2] Journals
- [1] Research
- [16] Videos
- [3] Apps
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Videos
- PTSD Warning Signs
- Therapies for PTSD
- Art can heal PTSD's invisible wounds
- PTSD Strikes on the Home Front
- Suffering Soldiers: A Look at PTSD
- Anxiety, Trauma and How Prolonged Exposure Therapy Works For PTSD
- PTSD: Stress and Resilience
- Bessel van der Kolk on Understanding Trauma
- How to Overcome PTSD
- Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD
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6 more
- Prolonged Exposure for PTSD
- PTSD Treatment: Know Your Options
- What is PTSD?
- Disaster Anniversaries
- Psychological Effects of Disasters: Identifying the Problem and Helping Individuals Cope
- How to Manage PTSD
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More Information
- An Interview with Pat Bracken, MD, Ph.D. on Post-Modern Psychiatry and the Social Context of Trauma
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Edna Foa, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of PTSD
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Frank Ochberg, MD on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Victoria Lemle Beckner, Ph.D. on Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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