If you’ve ever experienced a medical trauma, a traumatic experience related to the medical setting, you may have noticed some unexpected effects on your relationships. Maybe it’s more challenging than usual to interact with the people in your life and you’re wondering why. 

In the medical setting, the goal is to do no harm and bring healing, but it is rarely this simple. Patients discover they cannot control their circumstances and become vulnerable to the limits of their bodies and the medical expertise of others. Unfortunately, it can be extremely stressful, sometimes to a detrimental degree, to be a patient undergoing medical care.

If you have experienced trauma symptoms after an upsetting or life-threatening medical event, Medical PTSD might be an appropriate label for your experience.