Manchester Counselling Editorial Team
INTRODUCTION
WHAT COUNTS AS TRAUMA?
Trauma is not defined by the event alone—it’s defined by your emotional response to it. You don’t have to have been in a war zone to experience PTSD. Common everyday causes include:
Road traffic collisions
Physical or sexual assault
Sudden illness or surgery
Loss of a loved one (especially sudden or violent loss)
Emotional abuse, neglect, or childhood adversity
Domestic violence or witnessing violence in the home
According to NHS England, around 1 in 10 people will experience PTSD at some point in their life. But that number is likely an underestimate, as many people do not seek help or do not receive a diagnosis.
THE QUIET SYMPTOMS OF PTSD
PTSD doesn’t always involve flashbacks or dramatic panic attacks. For many people, symptoms are quieter but just as disruptive. These include:
Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected from others
Avoiding reminders of the event (people, places, activities)
Intrusive thoughts or distressing dreams
Hypervigilance—being constantly alert, jumpy, or irritable
Difficulty concentrating or sleeping
Shame, guilt, or self-blame about what happened
Because these symptoms can develop weeks, months, or even years after the event, they are often mislabelled as anxiety, depression, or burnout. But the root may be unprocessed trauma.
WHY PTSD IS OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD
There’s still a cultural idea that PTSD belongs only to soldiers or survivors of the most extreme trauma. This belief can prevent people from recognising their own symptoms—or from feeling "entitled" to seek help.
But trauma is subjective. What matters is how the event affected your sense of safety, control, or identity. A car crash at 18 or a violent breakup at 30 can be just as psychologically disruptive as any major disaster.
Women, people of colour, and members of the LGBTQ+ community are statistically less likely to receive a formal PTSD diagnosis despite higher exposure to traumatic events (Mind, 2023). This makes understanding and validation even more critical.
HEALING FROM PTSD — IT’S NEVER TOO LATE
PTSD is treatable, even years after the traumatic event occurred. Recovery doesn’t mean forgetting what happened—it means learning how to live alongside it with less fear and more control.
Trauma-focused therapies like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) and trauma-focused CBT are highly effective for PTSD and recommended by NICE guidelines. These approaches work by helping your brain process traumatic memories in a way that no longer feels threatening.
Other strategies that support recovery include:
Rebuilding safe, trusting relationships
Developing grounding techniques for flashbacks or anxiety
Reconnecting with the body through gentle exercise, breathwork, or yoga
Using creativity—art, music, or journaling—to express experiences
Recovery is not about being "strong enough to forget." It’s about finding peace in remembering and strength in surviving.
At Manchester Counselling, we understand that trauma isn’t always loud—and neither is healing. Whether your PTSD stems from a single event or years of cumulative stress, support is available.
We’ll help you find a therapist trained in trauma-informed care who can guide you through recovery in a way that feels safe, steady, and empowering. Online and in-person options are available depending on your needs.
If something still haunts you—even quietly—you deserve the space to work through it.
NHS England. (2024). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Mind. (2023). Understanding PTSD
NICE. (2023). PTSD treatment guidelines
Mental Health Foundation. (2023). PTSD and complex trauma
Royal College of Psychiatrists. (2023). Post-traumatic stress disorder factsheet
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