Can you get PTSD from work?
Many fields, such as those involving first responders, military personnel, caregivers, and individuals exposed to accidents, violence, and other traumatic experiences, are particularly prone to PTSD due to the nature of their work.
However, it’s also not uncommon for people who have experienced high-stress or toxic workplaces to describe the feeling and nuanced aftereffects of leaving an organization like a form of PTSD.
And while it’s important not to confuse or minimize the severity of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, understanding some of the symptoms or similarities may help you seek out the right help, or better understand, heal, and prevent symptoms from happening again in the future.
How Toxic Work Stress Can Impact You Even After You’ve Left
After leaving a stressful work environment, it can be common for the nervous system to remain on edge, have a hard time “shutting off,” and to carry fear, anxiety, and a sense of doubt or mistrust from the previous environment to the next.
Why does this happen?
While fear and our normal response to trauma is something that evolution wired into us to keep us alive (i.e. fight or flight when faced with a lion), in today’s age our bodies don’t do a great job of distinguishing between running from a lion and what’s flagged as an urgent email when it comes to responding to stress.
Even more, many of today's workplace cultures make employees feel like they’re expected to be “always on,” or that everything - yes, even the speed at which you respond to a Slack message - is urgent. It’s not uncommon for many work environments to use language like “putting out a fire,” and when your paycheck and sense of financial stability is also on the line, many of these emergencies can unconsciously feel life-threatening. All this can keep us in an almost constant state of fight or flight. Unfortunately many have just learned to accept this as normal, but this level of chronic stress can lead to both burnout and longer-term symptoms like fear, hypervigilence, and negative beliefs about oneself.
How To Heal
When you leave a toxic work environment, it can be important to actually take the time to fully heal and re-regulate your system. This might look like taking time off, spending extra time with activities you love or that are restful or physically engaging - for example, painting, yoga, time in nature.
It's also important to give yourself enough space to regain a sense of perspective, set stronger boundaries, and be intentional about the environment you choose to put yourself back into next. And, of course, working with a professional can be a critical part of anyone’s healing journey.
While it may sometimes take time for things to feel fully normal again, know that it can be a natural part of the healing process.