Battling PTSD, Source https://flickr.com, Author US Marines (PD as work product of federal govt.)
Retraumatization is defined as re-experiencing a past traumatic event as if it were occurring in the present [1A]. Retraumatization calls up and heightens the emotions and sensations of the original trauma we experienced. We once again feel powerless and under threat.
Sources of Retraumatization
The sources of retraumatization are innumerable, and as unique as the individual.
Potential sources, however, can include: stress; sights, sounds, or smells similar to the original traumatic event; song lyrics evocative of the original traumatic event; movies similar to the original traumatic event; news stories similar to the original traumatic event; illness or injury (with or without hospitalization); loss of a loved one, a pet, or a meaningful possession; dysfunctional relationships; and natural disasters [1B][2A].
Exposure to someone else’s trauma (whether a family member, friend, or public figure) can be likewise detrimental [2B].
Trauma-Informed Healthcare
It is imperative that healthcare professionals recognize trauma is not limited to physical injury from falls or gunshots [3A]. Negative experiences in childhood are highly prevalent. These can include not only childhood abuse, but parental mental illness or imprisonment.
Healthcare services can, themselves, traumatize patients through bias [3B].
Unintentional retraumatization in the healthcare setting may result from a lack of privacy, certain physical positions which evoke unspoken trauma, and physical touching during routine procedures [3C].
It is vital that patients feel respected, and safe. Building trust is crucial for this.
Impact of Retraumatization
Retraumatization can intensify symptoms of PTSD, making it more difficult to deal with the ordinary demands of life. Working a job, shopping for groceries, or making dinner can feel daunting.
Retraumatization frequently evokes old responses to trauma, e.g. nightmares, hypervigilance, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, and addictive behaviors [1C][4A]. These are not signs of failure. They are signals that our original wound may require additional care [4B].
Shame
“…a wildfire can feel like an invasion and may remind the person of other times their space was invaded – a parent barging in on them unannounced, an unwanted sexual advance, or something similar. The theme (invasion) is the same even if the content (i.e., a wildfire) is not [4C].”
Traumatic events can overwhelm our nervous system and our ability to cope. There is no shame in this.
Many of us though will feel shame, if we experience retraumatization, especially if the circumstances we experience as retraumatizing to others may seem trivial or do not on the surface appear directly related to our original trauma.
This does not mean the connection is irrational. We may not have made that connection intellectually. But on some basis our body has.
Healing from Retraumatization
Nor does retraumatization mean we are “fragile”. Human beings are enormously resilient. But they are complex, as well, so healing is not linear.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one approach that has been helpful [5]. It allows the brain to process trauma (whether old or recent), so that the body need no longer react to it. A sense of safety and control returns.
Distinguishing what is actually happening now from what happened then is critical [2C].
Avoiding altogether the triggers we experience as retraumatizing may be necessary. But gradual, repeated exposure to such situations may decrease their power to evoke the past for us.
—
[1A, 1B, and 1C] Trauma Treatment Collective, “What Is Retraumatization Anyway?” by , 10/3/22, https://traumatreatmentcollective.com/what-is-retraumatization-anyway/.
[2A, 2B, and 2C] Psychology Today, “Retraumatization and Its Impact on Trauma Recovery” by Jamie Cannon, MS, LPC, 9/30/25, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stress-fracture/202509/retraumatization-and-its-impact-on-trauma-recovery?msockid=05447c7cad7268a1051a6aa6ac5f6947.
[3A, 3B, and 3C] National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, “Trauma-informed care: recognizing and resisting retraumatization in health care” by Samara Grossman et al, 12/20/21, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8689164/.
[4A, 4B, and 4C] Whole Person, “What Retraumatization Is and How to Heal from It” by Dr. Denise Renye, https://www.wholepersonintegration.com/blog/2025/1/27/what-retraumatization-is-and-how-to-heal-from-it.
[5] Cleveland Clinic, “EMDR Therapy”, 3/29/22, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22641-emdr-therapy.
FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: https://alawyersprayers.com
A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse and More 
Very informative, Anna. You’ve pointed out several things that I’ve never considered about PTSD. Thank you for bringing this subject to light.
Excellent & informative . Thank you 🩷
I really loved the line about healing not being linear. The section on trauma-informed healthcare is so important. I often see how easy it is to forget how routine procedures can feel to a patient. You have are incredibly talented at handling these complex topics with empathy (and clarity for the ignorant like me!). Have a great week!
You are so kind, Scott. 🙂 I hardly deserve such praise. But thank you. Have a great week!
💔🙏💔🙏💔🙏
Thank you for this information. It will be very useful for me. May God bless you richly, Anna!
You are more than welcome, Cindy. ❤
Thats so true Anna, feeling safe truly makes a difference in healing. Thank you for sharing this insightful piece
Now there’s a timely post! I’m smiling about how relevant that is.
Considering what you just went through, I see your point. SMH.
Years back during a session with my psychiatrist I noticed him wince as I mentioned a particular movie I was eager to see. It is obvious now his concern was the possibility of retraumatization. Thank you Anna for bringing this condition to light.
This is a helpful post.
I’m glad you find it so.
=)
For me, Dr. Joseph Burgo’s book SHAME: Free Yourself, Find Joy and Build True Self-Esteem — about the various forms and degrees of shame, including the emotionally and mentally crippling “core shame” life curse — was/is quite revelatory. He writes:
“When brain development goes awry, the baby senses on the deepest level of his being that something is terribly wrong — with his world and with himself. As the psychoanalyst James Grotstein has described it, ‘These damaged children seem to sense that there is something neurodevelopmentally wrong with them, and they feel a deep sense of shame about themselves as a result.’
“Throughout my work I have referred to this experience as ‘core shame.’ It is both intense and global. Under conditions that depart widely from the norm, shame also becomes structural, an integral part of developing child’s felt self. Rather than feeling beautiful and worthy of love, these children come to feel defective, ugly, broken, and unlovable.”
While my father had (as do I) an autism spectrum disorder about which he wasn’t formally aware, my mother had suffered a nervous breakdown or postpartum depression around the time I was born. It likely would have meant a lack of such crucial shared joyful interactions. It may also be relevant that Dad used guilt punishment instead of physical blows as an effective means of chastising me (e.g. “See what you did?”). Guilt and shame seem to have much in common.
A core shame diagnosis would help explain why, among its other debilitating traits, I’ve always felt oddly uncomfortable sharing my accomplishments with others, including those closest to me. And maybe explain my otherwise inexplicable almost-painful inability to accept compliments, which I had always simply attributed to a ridiculous degree of modesty. It would also help explain why I have consistently felt unlovable.
Largely due to ASD traits that rubbed against the grain of social normality thus were clearly unappreciated by others, my unlikability was for me confirmed. My avoidance of social interaction and even simple smiles at seemingly-interested females was undoubtedly misperceived as snobbery. The bitter irony was that I was actually feeling the opposite of conceit or even healthy self-image/-esteem.
As for my lifetime of misery, it would be great if there could be some valuable academic or clinical use elsewhere from it all in the future—to create or extract from it some practical positivity and purpose—so that all of the suffering will not have been in vain but instead possibly help other people struggling daily with a similar debilitating affliction. Because awareness is key to prevention, if not also healing.
Thank you for sharing this. I hope you have found a way to move beyond the undeserved shame you experienced from such an early age.
As an incest survivor, I am all too familiar w/ shame and lack of self-esteem. However, I have found great comfort in Scripture.
Here are two of the verses that speak to unwarranted shame, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament:
“Instead of your shame you shall have double honor…” (Isa. 61: 7).
“For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame‘” (Rom. 10: 11).