Halloween Trauma Triggers

For many, kids and adults alike, Halloween is an exciting and fun-filled time of the year of costumes, trick-or-treating, giving people a chance to try on another persona, or becoming your favorite movie or TV character. Halloween is accompanied by parties, candy, cakes, drinks, and scary movies.

However, for trauma survivors or people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), this holiday can be intolerable. Those who suffer with PTSD symptoms (intrusive images, increased anxiety, an exaggerated startle response, increased heart rate, numbness, avoidance, disconnection, and dissociation), it can be a torturous experience to go through. Being spooked or intentionally scared can be terrifying for someone with PTSD. It can trigger panic attacks, cause a startled reaction, and activate traumatic memories from the past. Reliving a traumatic experience can be taxing to one's physical and mental health. It can cause distress, fear, isolation and a feeling of being unsafe.

For complex PTSD or relational trauma survivors, encountering someone who is dressed in a scary costume activates feelings of deception and dishonesty. People presenting differently than they are can be reminiscent of their trauma. Additionally, people with PTSD can get activated by trick-or-treaters and strangers constantly coming to their houses and knocking on their doors.

When watching a scary movie or going through a haunted house that includes jump-scares and violent or scary images, survivors become hyper-vigilant in anticipation, are reactive, and experience an acute stress response each time they are frightened. Cortisol levels are elevated and once the event is over, it can take several hours for it to return to normal. With repetition, cortisol levels become depleted, which can lead to symptoms of depression and fatigue.

Some people with trauma histories will seek out haunted houses and horror films as an attempt to gain mastery over something that feels out of control. The associated adrenaline rush is a welcomed distraction from the underlying pain and suffering. There can be a sense of belonging watching someone else go through a frightening situation, and there is usually a positive outcome or resolution to the story, which can offer a sense of hope to survivors.

Halloween is often a dreaded holiday for survivors of trauma — one to get through, as opposed to participate in and enjoy. However, there are ways to make the holiday more manageable. Try to see the holiday through the eyes of children—pumpkins, candy, bobbing for apples— as opposed to blood, guts, and horror. Set boundaries with friends and family and only participate in activities that are pleasant. Have an exit strategy when you have reached your limit or host a party of your own where you are in control.