About Trauma

Trauma Definition

The definition of trauma is anything that is "deeply distressing or disturbing." The definition is broad because trauma is defined by a person's subjective experience of it rather than the event itself.

Psychological trauma concerns an overwhelm in terms of a person's ability to integrate or process their experience. These experiences may include, but not be limited to, a threat to life, sanity or body integrity.

A situation which results in psychological trauma may leave an individual feeling unable to cope with the feelings that have been evoked.

You may have experienced multiple traumas over a sustained period of time, possibly in a relationship (known as relational trauma). This is sometimes referred to as complex trauma or complex PTSD.

It is important to remember that trauma symptoms are your mind and body's attempt to integrate a traumatic experience or experiences.

Trauma Symptoms

Trauma symptoms vary from person to person. They can manifest immediately after an incident or take a number of years to manifest. Trauma symptoms are emotional, psychological and somatic.

Trauma symptoms are normal reactions to abnormal events.
Trauma symptoms are an attempt to adapt or cope in adverse circumstances or an attempt to manage the experience of overwhelming emotions.
Trauma symptoms are often an attempt by our survival system to protect us from further harm.

In most cases these symptoms get better naturally over the space of a few weeks. If an event is particularly traumatic, involved loved ones or repeated over time, they can stay with us for longer. If they last for longer than a few weeks you might be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Unprocessed trauma may result in associated distress. For example: chronic stress, anxiety, depression, self-harm and addiction.

Psychological Trauma Symptoms

Psychological symptoms can include intrusive thoughts, memories or reminders of the trauma. You might feel confused, have difficulty concentrating or feel detached from yourself, your loved ones or the world around you. You might blame yourself for the experience or blame someone else for what happened. You may have a negative world belief as a consequence — e.g. the world is completely dangerous or people cannot be trusted. You might experience denial of what happened and try to forget about it, or go over the circumstances repeatedly.

Emotional Trauma Symptoms

If you have experienced a recent trauma you might lose control of your emotions quickly. This is your nervous system trying to keep you safe and you are in a hyperaroused state. Examples might include angry outbursts, irritability and mood swings. You might experience fear, shock, horror, anger, helplessness, guilt or shame or immense sadness.

You might also feel emotionally numb and feel a sense of disconnection or emptiness. You might struggle to feel happy or have loving feelings for people close to you — this would be a hypoaroused state.

Somatic Trauma Symptoms

Somatic symptoms are what you experience in your body post trauma. You might experience emotional numbness, lethargy and fatigue, feel jumpy, increased heart rate, muscle tension, stress, dizziness or sickness or feeling on edge. You might feel a disconnection from your body which can manifest as numbness in the body or being overly busy all of the time to distract yourself.

Types of Trauma

Trauma is experienced in a number of different settings. Settings might include home life, at school, the workplace, in the wider community or in an emergency scenario — or, as is most commonly connected with PTSD, a war zone. Traumas are sometimes categorised into different groupings.

Type 1 Trauma

Type 1 refers to single-incident traumas which are unexpected and come out of the blue. Examples of type 1 trauma might include:

Severe illness or injury
Violent assault
Sexual assault
Traumatic loss
Mugging or robbery
Being a victim of or witness to violence
Witnessing a terrorist attack
Witnessing a natural disaster
Road accident
Military combat incident
Hospitalisation
Psychiatric hospitalisation
Childbirth
Medical trauma
Post suicide attempt trauma
Life threatening illness or diagnosis (or perceived life threatening illness)

Type 2 Trauma

Type 2 traumas are more likely to be experienced over a length of time and repeated. They could be experienced as part of an interpersonal relationship or with a close attachment figure in childhood. Examples include:

Sibling abuse
Childhood emotional abuse
Domestic violence
Emotional neglect and attachment trauma
Abandonment
Verbal abuse
Coercion
Domestic physical abuse
Long-term misdiagnosis of a health problem
Bullying at home, at school or in a work setting
Sexual abuse
Emotional abuse
Physical neglect
Overly strict upbringing (sometimes religious)

Historical, Collective or Intergenerational Trauma

A prominent example of collective, intergenerational trauma is the Holocaust experienced by the Jewish community in World War II. Historical trauma can affect communities or groups of people in a physical, emotional and psychological way. Adaptive coping patterns can be passed down generations of families, groups and communities of people. Examples include:

Racism
Slavery
Forcible removal from a family or community
Genocide
War

Vicarious or Secondary Trauma

This type of trauma can occur when someone speaks to someone who has experienced a trauma, or witnessed a trauma first hand. The person listening can experience secondary trauma and experience symptoms similar to those of the person explaining the trauma.

Helpful Trauma Information

Understanding what is happening in your body and mind after trauma can be a powerful part of healing. Many people find that learning about trauma responses helps normalise their experiences and gives them tools to work with their reactions rather than feeling controlled by them.

If you recognise some of these experiences in yourself, please know that support is available. Trauma-informed therapy can help you process difficult experiences and develop effective coping strategies. You do not have to go through this alone.