When you’re under stress, a hormone known as cortisol will usually work to slow down certain systems that aren’t necessary at the time. While this is helpful during a temporary situation, prolonged release of cortisol can affect you negatively. For people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), their stress levels remain elevated and it can lead to permanently abnormal cortisol levels. As you might expect, some of the effects of PTSD can be physical as well.
10 Surprising Physical Signs Of PTSD
1. Skin That Scars Easily
When reacting to stress, your body seeks to preserve its water supply. This can mean pulling moisture away from the skin. If your skin isn’t properly moisturized, it will have trouble repairing itself when you’ve been hurt and you’ll scar more easily.
2. Ringing In Your Ears
PTSD affects the limbic part of our brain, which is responsible for stress regulation. Studies show that if this part of your brain goes into overdrive, it can cause tinnitus or ringing in the ears.
3. Inexplicable Weight Gain
Cortisol affects weight gain and fat storage. Since the abdominal muscles have four times as many cortisol receptors as the rest of the body, you’re likely to gain weight around your abdomen.
4. Poor Digestion
Your digestive system slows down during times of stress. Since people with PTSD experience stress as a constant state, they may have trouble digesting their meals. Over time they can develop digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
5. Pain Sensitivity
If you’ve had high cortisol levels for a long time, you can deplete your adrenal glands. Depleted adrenal glands lead to higher prolactin levels, which in turn increase your pain sensitivity.
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6. Inability To Build Muscle
High cortisol levels can affect how well your muscle cells absorb amino acids. As a result, you’ll have trouble building muscle regardless of how well you eat or how often you exercise.
7. Persistently Cold Hands And Feet
When your body goes into flight, fight, or freeze mode, blood flow is usually redirected from the extremities to the torso. Being in a constant state of stress means that people with PTSD often have poor blood flow and their extremities always feel cold.
8. Allergy Flares
Given the link between your digestive and immune systems, it’s not surprising that inflammation in one will