If you’re living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or even if you’re reading this because someone you care about is, the fact that you’ve come to this page is likely because you need support and answers.
Unfortunately, the symptoms of PTSD don’t typically go away on their own. This means that the long-term effects of PTSD can worsen, impacting daily life in a variety of ways. But searching for what happens when PTSD goes untreated means you’re asking yourself an important question – one that many people may spend years avoiding.
With support, people can recover from PTSD – even after years of living with symptoms. But helping you better understand what can happen when PTSD goes untreated may encourage you or someone you care about to finally reach out.
This page covers:
For those who have PTSD, there’s often an underlying hope that the symptoms will eventually fade away on their own. Perhaps the thought of getting treatment for it seems too overwhelming, especially if you’re aware that therapy may bring memories you’re trying to suppress to the surface. So they might wait it out to see if the nightmares, flashbacks, or daily hypervigilance will ease.
For some people, this might actually happen. A meta-analysis found that around 44% of people with PTSD recovered without treatment after an average of 40 months.[1] While positive to hear, this still means 56% are without change and still living with the condition.
For those who do actually seek treatment, the outlook looks very promising. The same study found that remission rates varied from 8%-89%, but when the person received treatment within a five-month window after the traumatic event, remission rates showed a steady 51.7%.[1]
What this information shows us is that, yes, some do get better with time, but the odds of whether or not you fall into this category are close to those of a coin flip. It is, however, hopeful to see treatment results showing such strong numbers in terms of recovery.
Unfortunately, for many people, if PTSD symptoms are left unchecked, they can become the breeding ground for other conditions to form. In other words, the difficulties associated with PTSD may create other mental health conditions.
Below, we take a look at three of the most worrying PTSD complications:
If you’ve been living with untreated PTSD, you may also be more likely to experience symptoms of depression. Features of PTSD, like emotional numbing or social withdrawal, overlap with those of depression. So, without treatment, it could lead to the development of the condition.
With this in mind, it’s unsurprising that research has found people with PTSD in certain populations to have more than three times higher odds of also experiencing depression.[2]
Plus, when both conditions are present, each can feed into the other. For example, if PTSD is driving withdrawal, depression could take away the energy to re-engage.
PTSD keeps the nervous system in a constant state of readiness for danger, and sometimes, this can feel very similar to living with severe anxiety.
In fact, PTSD can feel so similar to anxiety that the DSM-4 considered PTSD as an anxiety disorder of its own, until the classification was changed in the DSM-5.[3]
But regardless of this reclassification, similarities in symptoms still exist. Then, when you add in the fact that anxiety disorders are highly comorbid with other disorders, it becomes easier to understand why there are such strong links between the two conditions.
Research suggests that people with PTSD face a substantially higher risk of death by suicide than those without the condition. In fact, several studies report rates around four to five times higher than the general population.[4]
Similarly, another study found that for those with chronic PTSD, half reported some form of suicidality, with 38.3% experiencing suicidal thoughts and 9.6% having made attempts.[5]
The strongest predictors were the combination of functional impairment and depression, both of which worsen the longer PTSD goes without treatment. This information perhaps makes the strongest case for seeking urgent treatment for severe symptoms.
If you have PTSD and have experienced any form of suicidality recently, and especially if you’re experiencing it at this moment in time, it’s crucial to reach out to the emergency services as soon as possible. Call 911, or the 988 Lifeline also serves as an excellent resource for people in need.
PTSD can affect many parts of a person’s day-to-day life. Research shows that PTSD affects functioning across many areas, such as:
In fact, the impacts of PTSD on daily life are considered to be more severe than those seen in most other anxiety-related conditions.[6]
It’s not difficult to understand why, either. For example, holding down a job can become much harder when PTSD is impacting concentration. Add the lack of sleep that’s synonymous with PTSD into the mix, and it’s clear to see how work life could be deeply impacted.
Just in the same way, friendships might become difficult to maintain when situations feel unsafe, and parenting can take a hit when emotional availability is compromised.
Many might assume that PTSD is just a psychological condition, but the effects it has on the body can be just as real.
For example, if you have PTSD, you might notice:
As well as these symptoms, research has also found that chronic PTSD is associated with an increase in:[7]
A lot of factors contribute to these symptoms. But, as a short summary, the body’s stress hormone system becomes dysregulated due to PTSD, which means it loses the ability to manage its own responses effectively. Plus, on an even deeper level, some studies have linked PTSD to chronic low-grade inflammation and changes in how the autonomic nervous system works.[8]
If the body stays in a constant state of a low-level emergency for most of the day, the wear on the cardiovascular and immune systems builds day by day. Basically, the longer the nervous system stays in this state, the more the physical consequences can stack up.
The people closest to someone with untreated PTSD can sometimes feel the effects before the person themselves fully recognizes what’s happening.
For example, a partner might notice that the emotional closeness has reduced, or even faded away completely. In fact, a review of PTSD and relationship functioning found that the traits of emotional numbing and avoidance directly impact intimacy and communication within the relationship.[9]
Plus, someone close might also notice that they’re having to constantly adjust their own behavior to make sure there’s no chance of triggering an unwanted reaction.
Essentially, the person with PTSD may not be aware of how much they’ve pulled back emotionally, but their partner feels it and is a part of it every day.
When PTSD stems from a single traumatic event, the symptoms usually cluster around that experience. But if the trauma was prolonged and systematic, especially if experienced during childhood, the effects can cause deeper problems.
Complex PTSD includes the core symptoms of PTSD alongside additional difficulties that affect how a person relates to themselves and the others around them.
These can include:
Additionally, a study comparing the symptoms of both found that those with complex PTSD showed stronger functional impairment across the board.[10] The study also found that chronic interpersonal trauma was the strongest predictor of these symptoms.[10]
What makes this information relevant to treatment timing is that the longer PTSD goes unaddressed, the more opportunity these challenges have to develop. For example, an aspect of PTSD that may have responded well to treatment in its earlier stages could turn into something more complex down the line. This might mean that a more intensive treatment approach could be needed.
However, treating complex PTSD is possible, but it might ask more of the person and the program delivering it. This is exactly why early intervention is important.
AMFM is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
If you’re reading this as a concerned loved one or family member, you may be wondering why anyone would live with untreated trauma symptoms for years without getting any support. If this is the case, it might help to know that it’s not just your loved one. Data shows that the average time between the onset of PTSD symptoms and first treatment is 15 years.[11]
For many, this equates to 15 years of accumulated effects on every area of life, including mental and physical health. So, why is there such an obvious issue in getting the help needed? While there are many variables, the answer is built into the condition itself, which we consider in the following sections.
PTSD can make the person avoid anything connected to their trauma, and for many, seeking treatment may fall into that category.
Even if they’ve never been in a therapeutic environment before, they might think that treatment involves remembering the traumatic event in detail so that it can be fully addressed. For a lot of people, even the thought of having to go through this is enough to put them off treatment entirely.
However, trauma treatment can take a number of different forms. It’s not always just sitting in a room, talking with a professional about what happened.
Not recognizing that PTSD is present could be another part of the problem. For example, someone might feel that their constant hypervigilance is them being cautious, or that the lack of emotions they feel is just a part of who they’ve become.
There’s also the possibility that they are fully aware that they’re dealing with PTSD but have adapted to the symptoms and made dealing with them a part of their daily life.
No matter how long you or someone you care about has been living with PTSD, the evidence shows that treatment still works. Let’s consider some of your options:
A study of survivors who had been living with PTSD for an average of nine years found that after completing evidence-based trauma therapy, roughly 80% no longer met the criteria for a diagnosis.[12] Also, a follow-up five to ten years later found those results had held.[12]
Additionally, research with veterans found that 40% no longer met diagnostic criteria after treatment, with 50% showing reliable symptom improvement.[13] These were described as among the most encouraging results seen for chronic PTSD in that population.
What these findings make clear is that the length of time you’ve been carrying trauma does not determine whether things can change. The nervous system can still learn that the threat has passed, even after years of operating as though it hasn’t.
Residential treatment for PTSD provides the kind of environment where trauma-informed work can happen with the focus it requires.
Being removed from the daily triggers and routines that keep the survival response active can give the nervous system space to reset. This is what sets inpatient trauma treatment apart from weekly sessions. It also allows for the kind of intensive, daily therapeutic work that outpatient settings may not be able to offer, especially for people with severe PTSD symptoms that have become deeply entrenched.
If you’ve been living with these symptoms and you’ve been putting off getting help, starting your PTSD recovery now can still change the way you experience your life.
A Mission For Michael (AMFM) provides treatment for adults experiencing various conditions. Trauma support is a phone call away – call 866-478-4383 to learn about our current treatment options.
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If anything on this page has felt familiar, and regardless of whether you’ve been living with these symptoms for months or years, professional support may be something important to consider.
AMFM (A Mission For Michael) Mental Health Treatment provides multiple levels of mental health treatment programs, including residential PTSD treatment. Treatment plans are customized and designed to address the full picture, not just the surface-level symptoms.
Our trauma recovery program is built around evidence-based therapies that have been shown to produce lasting results, even for people who have been living with untreated PTSD for a long time. We also offer support for those whose symptoms have become embedded in daily life and for whom outpatient treatment hasn’t been enough. This support includes dedicated treatment for:
Our multidisciplinary treatment team is led by a board-certified psychiatrist present on-site to conduct a comprehensive evaluation and meet with you one-on-one every week. Our team of expert clinicians believes in treatment persistence and will personalize your treatment plan so you can achieve lasting, life-changing outcomes.
Our locations in California, Minnesota, and Virginia accept insurance and are in-network with most major providers. To check your insurance coverage for mental health care, simply complete our confidential online verification form or call us at 866-478-4383.
Reach out to us to learn more about how we can support your healing. A caring member of our team will be happy to discuss the options available to you.
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At AMFM, we strive to provide the most up-to-date and accurate medical information based on current best practices, evolving information, and our team’s approach to care. Our aim is that our readers can make informed decisions about their healthcare.
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