What is trauma?

Trauma doesn't refer to specific events but more so to your individual reactions to event(s) or circumstance(s).

 

There are certain events that are known to have the potential of being traumatic, such as accidents, a loss, abuse, etc., but in order for these events to be considered or labeled traumatic, there has to be emotional harm, physical harm, and/or perceived life-threatening danger that overwhelms your ability to cope or manage life. 

 

So, let's break down a few things...

 

Your individual reactions to the event or circumstance are called trauma reactions.

 

Some trauma reaction categories are as follows:

  • Intrusive thoughts:
    • Upsetting thoughts or pictures about what happened that come into your mind when you really don't want them to. 
  • sleep issues:
    • Having bad dreams or nightmares, and/or having difficulty sleeping.
  • re-experiencing:
    • Acting or feeling as though the experience is happening again. An example is seeing or hearing something that takes you back to the event, causing you to feel as if you were there again. 
  • emotional dysregulation:
    • Having strong upsetting emotions or feeling upset when you are reminded of what happened. Upset emotions can be feeling scared, angry, sad, guilty, confused, etc. 
  • physical sensations:
    • Having feelings in your body when you are reminded of what happened. Some examples could be shakiness, heart beating faster, sweating, etc. 
  • avoidance:
    • Trying to avoid certain people, places, or activities that remind you of what happened and/or trying not to think about, talk about, or have feelings about what happened. 
  • negative thoughts:
    • Having bad thoughts about yourself, others, or the world. Some thoughts could be, "I can't do anything right," "all people are bad," "the world is a scary place." 
  • self-blame:
    • Feeling as though what happened was your fault. Some examples are, "I should have known better," "I shouldn't have done that." 
  • depressive symptoms:
    • Having less interest in things you once enjoyed, having a hard time feeling connected or close to others, isolating and not wanting to be around other people, lack of pleasant emotions such as joy, irritability or anger, thoughts of self-harm. 
  • anxiety symptoms:
    • Being careful or on the lookout, constantly checking your surroundings to see who or what is nearby, being jumpy or easily startled. 
  • cognitive limitations:
    • Experiencing difficulty paying attention. This could be during conversations, in class, reading, etc. 

 

Physical harm & life-threatening harm are pretty self-explanatory. Physical harm is any type of bodily injury while life-threatening harm is anything capable of causing death. 

 

Emotional harm is when you experience high levels of distress as a result of the traumatic event(s) or circumstance(s). Distress is when you have very strong emotional reactions such as feeling overwhelmed, anguish, guilt, hopelessness, etc. 

 

 

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