What is living with Medical PTSD like? This Healthline.com article by Katy MacBride talks about the experience with trauma and how complex the feelings involved are. MacBride recounts her experience taking an allergy test where even though there was little to no pain, she “burst into tears and started shaking uncontrollably”. Even for checkups at the dentist involving routine teeth cleaning, the slightest pinch leaves her hyperventilating. MacBride says she still feels humiliated and debilitated at how she involuntarily acts as a result of the trauma she went through. Most importantly though, MacBride talks about how she couldn’t believe she had trauma. She had great care for the most part and she wasn’t assaulted or attacked. It was hard for her to believe that the trauma had come from within, without regard for any external source. She still struggles with feelings that she’s just being “melodramatic” or that she should just “get over it”. This is a real issue that many people with Medical PTSD have, and it's a huge contributor to why people don’t discuss this form of trauma openly. 

In the aftermath of World War 1, soldiers who behaved strangely after combat were diagnosed with shell shock. It was thought that the experience of being shot or shelled rattled the brain. As a result, those who hadn’t experienced direct attacks (but saw the effects of war/others get attacked) yet exhibited signs of shell shock were considered to be weaker or overreacting. Unfortunately, these same attitudes have followed us into the 21st century as there is still the same stigma against those with PTSD. This article from EverydayHealth by Julie Revelant breaks down the specific forms of stigma those with PTSD face. Public stigma, where society as a whole stereotypes the person with the condition, is the broadest category. Examples of this include people feeling the need to tell the traumatized individual to “try getting over it” or to “forgive and forget”. This feeds into the next type: self stigma. Self stigma is arguably one of the more dangerous forms where the individual doubts their trauma as a result of others telling them it doesn’t exist. This can create feelings of wrongdoing and self doubt where none should exist. The next type – label avoidance – is where the affected person avoids treatment so that they don’t get stigmatized. This is particularly harmful because as seen earlier, the effects of Medical Trauma are far reaching and can affect day to day life. Finally there is structural stigma, where the discrimination has spread so far that it goes into governmental policy and makes life even harder for those affected. There is a lot of interconnection between the forms of stigma, and this makes the effect compounded on those with PTSD who have to keep themselves mentally stable while dealing with these different forms of stigma.

In conclusion, Medical Trauma is a very real and tangible condition. In modern society, it tends to be avoided in conversation even though it affects more people than one might think. There needs to be more discussion surrounding it due to how easily it can be caused, and how much it can impact the lives of those affected. The barriers facing the much-needed open discussion of  Medical PTSD are vast but not insurmountable. By validating those who are affected and spreading awareness about Medical Trauma as a whole, we can improve the health of the entire population.

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