Can PTSD be contagious?
October 10, 2019
Post-traumatic stress disorder could be “contagious.” Although it is not transmitted via shared fluids, research shows that those who care for or regularly interact with a person who has experienced trauma are potentially at risk of developing secondhand PTSD. Although they did not experience or witness the trauma themselves, being in close contact with the person who did could be enough to trigger PTSD symptoms.
Those who are most at risk are therapists, emergency workers, police and family members of a person who experienced trauma and is suffering from PTSD. Ten to 20 percent of people closely associated with a PTSD patient begin to experience the condition themselves.
The reason for this may be empathy. Those who are better able to identify with the emotions of others were at higher risk for secondary PTSD, making therapists and social workers particularly vulnerable.
The closeness of the relationship with the person with PTSD can contribute too. The wives of Israeli prisoners of war often began to show signs of secondary trauma from internalizing their husband’s traumatic experiences in a study.
Another group hard hit by secondary trauma: female service providers at VA clinics and hospitals. There is around a 20 percent turnover rate for these care providers, who listen to women veterans recount their traumatic experiences. Exit surveys conducted upon departure from the VA indicate that secondary PTSD could be partially to blame.
Veterans dealing with PTSD, after traumatic experiences during their military service, see their illness as a pervasive and far reaching, problem. Unfortunately for the caregivers and loved ones who interact closely with them, it can also be one that spreads.