Trauma and Social Isolation

The Connection Between Trauma and Withdrawing Socially

At our treatment center, our clinical staff has seen firsthand that traumatic experiences can take many different forms. When a trauma disorder forms, it can affect your life, mental health, and even physical well-being extensively. For example, poor mental health and social isolation are both linked to trauma.

Consequences like these can be and often are long-term for survivors. However, when you seek support, you can overcome trauma and its effects.

Catalina Behavioral Health offers effective treatment for trauma covered by most insurance plans. So, what should you know about the connection between trauma and social isolation?

Perhaps more importantly, how can treatment help?

Let’s talk about why trauma might lead to social isolation, the risks of real or perceived social isolation, and social isolation as a PTSD symptom first. Then, we’ll discuss what to expect when you seek professional help at Catalina Behavioral Health and what our programs can do for you or a loved one who is in need of support.

Understanding the Connection Between Trauma and Social Isolation

Why might trauma lead to social isolation? There are multiple potential reasons a person who has been through traumatic events may isolate themselves from others.

For example:

• Feelings of depression are often linked to social withdrawal.
• Low self-esteem can interfere with social behavior and an individual’s ability to start or participate in social interactions.
• Feeling like you are alone in your experiences. Trauma can impact the way you experience the world, and it may feel like the people around you don’t understand.
• Self-protection. If past experiences of trauma involved abuse or poor treatment from other people (e.g., childhood abuse, sexual abuse, or domestic violence), you may feel afraid to trust or build meaningful connections with others.

Regardless of the root of social isolation, it can come with serious negative consequences. Chronic loneliness and lower resilience to stress are just a couple of potential negative outcomes of self-isolation.

Health Risks and Consequences of Isolation

What are the other health risks and consequences of feeling isolated? One review found that perceived social isolation is connected to a range of physical and mental health consequences, including but not limited to the following.

• Negative effects on the cardiovascular system and neuroendocrine system.
• Worsened cognitive functioning.
• Sleep problems.
• Depression.

This means that even feeling isolated might lead to medical problems and related concerns. Many people who have experienced trauma express that they feel alone at times, even in a room full of people. On the other hand, positive social connections are associated with a number of positive mental and physical health effects.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), social connectedness can reduce the risk of medical concerns such as heart disease, dementia, depression, stroke, and anxiety while increasing your quality of life and ability to cope with stress. Positive social relationships may even lead to a longer life.

Social Isolation in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

While not everyone who lives through a traumatic event will develop PTSD, trauma can lead to the development of PTSD and other trauma disorders. Similarly, those who experience trauma are at a higher risk of many other mental health conditions.

These include but aren’t limited to mood disorders, substance use disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders like borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Many mental disorders include social isolation or withdrawal from others as a potential symptom. Potential PTSD symptoms include but aren’t limited to feelings of estrangement or detachment from other people, reduced interest in significant activities (which may include previously enjoyed social activities), and persistent negative feelings about oneself, others, or the world.

Overwhelming feelings of guilt, sadness, shame, despair, and fear can also be common. You can see where these symptoms of PTSD may lead to social isolation and other challenges in interpersonal or romantic relationships. While these symptoms make sense, they don’t have to impact your ability to spend time with others forever. Trauma treatment can help you overcome negative responses like self-isolation.

Trauma-Informed Mental Health Services at Catalina Behavioral Health Can Help

If any of this sounds familiar, Catalina Behavioral Health can help. Professional help for trauma can take a number of forms and should be accessible to anyone who needs it.

At Catalina Behavioral Health, we offer inpatient and outpatient treatment programs for people working to overcome trauma, mental illness, substance abuse, and dual-diagnosis disorders.

Inpatient treatment provides 24/7 supervision. Our Arizona-based inpatient programs provide room and board, meals, and a full daily treatment schedule of groups, individual therapy, and other activities. The outpatient programs at Catalina Behavioral Health vary in intensity.

Partial hospitalization is our most intensive form of outpatient treatment, whereas our standard outpatient program is the least intensive. Outpatient treatment involves living off-site and allows you to continue your typical work or school schedule if you need to.

All Catalina Behavioral Health clients get a personalized treatment plan. Your schedule will be unique to you but may include treatments and activities such as the following.

• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).
• Cognitive processing therapy (CPT).
• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT).
• Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).
• Body movement.
• Peer support and group therapy.
• Motivational interviewing (MI).
• Medication management.
• Recreation and outings. 
• Family therapy. 

When you reach out to Catalina Behavioral Health about getting treatment at our facility, we can help you determine the right starting level of care. All incoming clients get an intake assessment. During that assessment, our staff members will ask you about your personal history, current symptoms, and anything else that might affect your treatment needs.

In treatment, you will establish positive coping skills for trauma triggers, develop communication and relationship skills to use with friends and other loved ones, and address the root causes of symptoms like self-isolation. Before your program is over, we will help you make a custom aftercare plan. Our providers take pride in spending time with clients and helping them meet their unique goals.

Get Help for Trauma and Social Isolation at Catalina Behavioral Health

Social withdrawal is a common symptom associated with mental health conditions like PTSD.

That said, it is more than possible for trauma survivors to experience positive social interactions and build healthy interpersonal relationships. Time and time again, we’ve seen it happen. With the right support, self-care, and skills, you can overcome the effects of trauma and build a life you love.

To learn more about Catalina Behavioral Health’s trauma treatment programs programs, call our admissions line today. Our team is here to help you or your loved one get the care they need to heal and thrive.

FAQs on Trauma and Social Isolation

Why do trauma victims isolate?

People who have endured traumatic events may self-isolate for multiple reasons. The acute stress one endures during a traumatic event can lead to challenges such as emotional dysregulation, feelings of detachment, hypervigilance, and other concerns that make it difficult to connect with other people.

Does trauma cause social isolation?

Trauma is often associated with social isolation. For example, research shows that childhood trauma and neglect are linked to social exclusion in adulthood. This can lead to loneliness, self-isolation, and other challenges.

Thankfully, while trauma can change your life, healing from past trauma can change it, too. Professional help for trauma can help you overcome isolation and other potential challenges you might experience.

How does a person with trauma behave?

One of the most important things to understand about trauma is that everyone responds to it differently. A person who has been through a traumatic event may experience nightmares, intrusive traumatic memories, insomnia, flashbacks, social isolation and withdrawal, fear of abandonment, depression, and a broad range of other difficulties.

Even people with a marked diagnosis of a mental health condition like PTSD can experience and meet the criteria for the disorder through different symptoms. As a result, their behavior may differ.

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/box/part1_ch3.box16/
2. https://www.cdc.gov/social-connectedness/about/index.html
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5367921/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10097065/