26 Feb PTSD Signs, Causes, Treatment, and Whether It Ever Goes Away
Living with post-traumatic stress can feel confusing and overwhelming. You might be wondering what it means to have PTSD, why you feel the way you do, and whether things can ever genuinely get better. Here at Monarch Psychology in Calgary, we work with many people who carry traumatic experiences. As trauma experts, we know how important it is to have clear, compassionate information and real options for support.
What Does PTSD Mean?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that may develop after you experience or witness a traumatic event such as an accident, assault, abuse, disaster, medical emergency, or sudden loss. PTSD is not a sign of weakness. It is a trauma response that can affect the brain and body over time, often creating ongoing traumatic stress and trauma-related symptoms.
Many people have short-term traumatic stress symptoms after trauma, but they resolve over time. PTSD develops when symptoms remain intense, last longer than about a month, and start to interfere with work, school, relationships, or day-to-day life.
Common Signs and Symptoms of PTSD
PTSD symptoms can look different from person to person. Still, there are some common PTSD symptom patterns that we often see in our counselling work.
- Re-experiencing and flashback episodes: Unwanted memories, nightmares, emotions, or feeling as though you are reliving the event. These episodes may be triggered by sights, sounds, smells, or situations that remind you of the trauma.
- Avoidance behaviours: Trying not to think or talk about what happened, avoiding people, places, or activities that bring up painful feelings, or shutting down emotionally to protect yourself.
- Changes in mood and thinking: Feeling detached, numb, guilty, ashamed, or constantly “on guard.” It may be harder to trust others or feel safe, and negative beliefs about yourself or the world may grow over time.
- Body-based symptoms: Trouble sleeping, irritability, difficulty concentrating, feeling jumpy, or experiencing ongoing physical discomfort. PTSD is frequently linked with chronic pain. Emotional factors like pain catastrophizing (expecting the worst about pain) and depression appear to contribute to how strongly PTSD and pain influence one another.2
PTSD in children may show up as new fears, regression (such as bedwetting), clinginess, behaviour changes, trouble sleeping, or play that repeatedly acts out parts of the trauma. Childhood post-traumatic stress disorder signs can look different from adult symptoms because younger children may not have the words to explain their emotional trauma.
What Causes PTSD?
There is no single answer to what causes PTSD. Any event that feels overwhelming, terrifying, life-threatening, or deeply violating can become traumatic. Childhood trauma, ongoing abuse or neglect, sudden accidents or injuries, medical emergencies, and relational trauma may all contribute to PTSD or complex trauma later in life.
Post-traumatic stress disorder does not only come from extreme events. It can also grow from repeated traumas over time. The trauma impact on the brain and nervous system may affect how you process memories, how easily you feel threatened, and how strong your stress response becomes.
Not everyone who experiences traumatic events develops PTSD. Genetics, previous experiences, support systems, and current stress levels can all influence how you respond. What matters most is how the experience affected you, not whether it seems “big enough” to count as trauma.
How to Treat PTSD: Evidence-Based Options
There are several PTSD treatment options that may support healing. At our clinic, we tailor treatment to your needs and goals, using evidence-based approaches such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and other trauma-informed modalities.
Some people benefit from exposure therapy, a form of treatment where you gradually and safely face traumatic memories, feelings, or triggers with support, to reduce their intensity over time. Others focus more on emotional processing, body awareness, or skills to calm the nervous system. We work with you to find the combination that feels right.
PTSD, Chronic Pain, and the Body
Living with PTSD can take a toll on the body as well as the mind. PTSD and chronic pain commonly exist together and seem to reinforce each other over time.2 Emotional patterns such as pain catastrophizing (expecting severe or unmanageable pain) and depression appear to partly explain how PTSD and pain intensity and interference are linked.2 This means that working on trauma, mood, and coping style in therapy may also support how you experience physical pain.
In our work at Monarch Psychology, we pay attention to how trauma-related symptoms show up in your body, not just in your thoughts and emotions. We may integrate grounding skills, breathwork, gentle movement, and other mind–body strategies alongside talk therapy so that treatment addresses the whole person.
Does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Ever Go Away?
Many clients ask whether PTSD ever truly goes away. Healing from trauma is rarely a straight line, but meaningful change is possible. PTSD recovery stages often involve:
- Building safety and stability in your daily life
- Processing traumatic memory in a way that feels tolerable and contained
- Reconnecting with people, activities, and parts of yourself that matter to you
Over time, flashbacks may lessen, avoidance may ease, and the trauma may feel more like something that happened in your past rather than something that is still happening now. For some people, symptoms reduce to a minor background presence. For others, they become much more manageable with ongoing PTSD coping techniques and support.
Our role at Monarch Psychology is not just to reduce symptoms, but to support long-term mental health, resilience, and post-traumatic growth. While no approach can guarantee a specific outcome, compassionate, evidence-based therapy can contribute to meaningful improvements in daily functioning, relationships, and overall quality of life.1,2
How Monarch Psychology Supports Different PTSD Needs
We work with a wide range of trauma presentations, including single-incident trauma, ongoing abuse, childhood trauma, and complex PTSD. Our therapists prioritize safety, stabilize day-to-day coping, and gradually move toward deeper trauma processing if and when you are ready.
We also support PTSD in children and adolescents through age-appropriate therapy, play-based approaches, and family involvement.
If you are living with symptoms that feel like they may be trauma-related, you might be wondering when to seek support. Reaching out can be useful if you are noticing persistent distress, PTSD avoidance behaviours, flashback episodes, emotional numbness, or a sense that trauma is affecting your relationships, school, work, parenting, or physical health.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder FAQ
How do I know if what I’m feeling is PTSD or “just stress”?
PTSD symptoms typically include intrusive memories or flashbacks, avoidance, negative changes in mood or thinking, and feeling on edge for at least a month after a trauma. Unlike temporary feelings of stress, these symptoms can be intense, long-lasting, or disruptive to your life.
Can Monarch Psychology Treat Long-Term PTSD Symptoms Effectively?
Here at Monarch, we regularly see people who have been carrying trauma for many years. While we cannot promise a specific result, we use evidence-based therapies such as CBT, EMDR, ART, DBT, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. These may help reduce long-term PTSD symptoms and support better functioning over time. At our clinic, we work collaboratively with you to set realistic, meaningful goals.
What are some PTSD coping techniques I can start with?
Some people find it helpful to start with grounding (using the senses to connect to the present moment), paced breathing, gentle movement, structured routines, and safe social connection. These do not replace therapy, but they may support your nervous system between sessions and help you feel a bit more in control during the trauma healing process.
Is PTSD treatment different for children?
Post-traumatic stress disorder in children often looks and feels different than in adults. Treatment is adjusted to their age, developmental level, and unique personality. For childhood PTSD signs, we might use play, art, stories, or games to help kids express and process trauma in a safe way, while also coaching caregivers on how to respond supportively at home.
Find Support For PTSD at Monarch Psychology
If you’re ready to explore support for PTSD or trauma-related symptoms with our Calgary-based team or through secure online therapy across Alberta, you can Book Now.
Monarch Psychology – Counselling & Mental Health Clinic in Calgary
References
- Niemeyer H, et al. Augmentation of psychotherapy with exercise in adult populations affected by posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2025. doi:10.1080/20008066.2025.2589025
- Ravyts SG, et al. PTSD and chronic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. J Pain. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2025.105589
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