Is your mind remembering the past, or is your body still living it?
After a frightening or life-threatening experience, many people carry something with them: memories that return without warning, a body that never fully relaxes, a world that no longer feels safe. When these reactions persist long after the event is over, they can be exhausting and isolating. They are not a sign of weakness. They are the nervous system continuing to protect you from something it has not yet learned has ended. So first, let us understand what post-traumatic stress is and how it holds itself in place.
The National Institute of Mental Health describes PTSD as a disorder that can develop in some people after experiencing or witnessing a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. It is natural to feel fear during and after a traumatic situation. Most people recover on their own, and PTSD is considered when symptoms persist. NIMH groups PTSD symptoms into four types: re-experiencing symptoms, such as flashbacks and nightmares; avoidance symptoms, such as staying away from reminders; arousal and reactivity symptoms, such as being easily startled or on edge; and cognition and mood symptoms, such as negative beliefs, guilt, or feeling detached. For a diagnosis, symptoms generally must last more than a month and interfere with daily life. Only a licensed professional can diagnose PTSD, and this self-check cannot do so. It is designed to help you notice how a traumatic experience may still be shaping your body, mind, and relationships today, and to help you decide on a next step.
A disorder that can develop in some people after experiencing or witnessing a shocking, scary, or dangerous event, with symptoms grouped into re-experiencing, avoidance, arousal and reactivity, and cognition and mood types.
Neuroscience and NLP both describe post-traumatic reactions as the nervous system and subconscious holding a survival response that did not complete. Certain sights, sounds, or sensations are stored alongside the danger of that moment, so the body can respond as if it is happening again, even when the conscious mind knows it is over.
Your reactions are real, always.
But they are not proof that something is permanently wrong with you.
The system that learned to stay on guard can learn that the danger has passed.
That is the work of hypnosis and NLP, alongside appropriate professional care: helping the body and subconscious update what they are still protecting you from.
This self-check helps you explore where the effects of a traumatic experience may still be living in you: the intrusive memories, the avoidance, the shifts in mood and belief, the constant alertness, the effects on sleep and body, and the impact on your relationships. You will notice that some questions touch on difficult material. Please go at your own pace, and stop at any time.
Please read each statement carefully and select the response that best describes your experience. Trust your instincts and respond honestly. Your first thought is often the most accurate. There are no right or wrong answers, only insights into how your nervous system and subconscious mind are currently holding a traumatic experience.
For each statement, choose what feels most true for you: Always, Often, Sometimes, or Rarely.
This self-check is a reflective tool, not a diagnostic instrument, and it is not a substitute for trauma-informed therapy, psychiatric care, or medical treatment. It is not designed for crisis. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please contact a mental health professional, a crisis line such as 988 in the United States, or emergency services right away. You do not need to revisit the details of what happened to complete it.