PTSD doesn’t expire: How trauma resurfaces as we age

(Aging Untold) — Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, symptoms can become more noticeable later in life, especially during major life changes including retirement, illness or loss. The Aging Untold experts are breaking down why trauma doesn’t simply fade with time, and what families and caregivers can do to recognize it. PTSD is a body and brain still on alert “PTSD is not just something bad happened,” Dr. Rhea Rogers, a board-certified physician, said. “It’s basically your body and your brain are still reacting to a danger as if it’s still present, even though it’s long been gone.” Trauma is an “invisible suffering” that’s stored emotionally, neurologically and physically, Rogers said. “The body’s trying to move past something that the brain is not allowing. So in a sense, your body will express what your mind does suppress,” Rogers said. Sam Cradduck, a gerontologist, said trauma does not expire and PTSD is the past showing up and affecting your present. PTSD is often associated