Trauma seems to be a new buzzword that describes everything from discomfort, stress, shock, and overwhelm. The awareness of the prevalence of trauma has enabled those who are suffering to reach out for help. However, the clinical term for trauma can be somewhat different than what is seen on social media and in pop culture.
According to the DSM-5-TR, psychological distress after a traumatic or stressful event is variable. What is traumatic for one person might not be traumatic for another person. After a trauma, some people will feel symptoms that are intense and short-lived. Others will have an enduring pattern of anxiety, depression, anger, and dissociation. Most people will be resilient or recover. However, when trauma is repeated over periods, the likelihood of developing symptoms that affect self-worth, relationships, and functionality increases. This kind of trauma is known as complex trauma.
Complex trauma often begins in childhood. The Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire was developed to measure the trauma that can occur in childhood, such as abuse, household dysfunction, and neglect. The higher the score on the ACE quiz, the more likely a person is to develop physical and mental health problems later in life.
Other forms of trauma are known as attachment traumas or traumas that happen at the hands of a relationship figure. These relationship figures could be family members, friends, or romantic partners. Attachment traumas can also be complex as sometimes they happen repeatedly over time. Attachment trauma can occur in childhood or adulthood. These attachment traumas can look like divorce, betrayal, cheating, emotional, physical, sexual abuse, neglect, bullying, gaslighting, and lying.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is in response to experiencing or witnessing a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. PTSD can be from a one-time event or recurring attachment traumas. Symptoms of PTSD, complex trauma, or attachment trauma can be similar. It’s important to remember that you are not alone in experiencing these symptoms. Some of the symptoms are hypervigilance, anxiety, depression, lack of trust in others or one’s self, avoiding situations that remind you of the trauma, anger, aggression, nightmares, flashbacks, and dissociation. As you can see from the list above, suffering from trauma-related symptoms can be uncomfortable and cause suffering to the individual and their loved ones.
So why is everyone talking about trauma? Part of the reason is that individuals might be transferring trauma from generation to generation. This occurs because people tend to raise their children how they were raised. Individuals might not know that they are suffering or causing others to suffer. When suffering and trauma are your norm, there is no way to know what safe and secure feel like.
Understanding how trauma might be affecting your life or your loved ones’ lives is the first step to recovery. This knowledge empowers you to take control and make positive changes in your life. Awareness and education can also enable change in parenting, romantic relationships, professional functionality, and mental and physical health. Trauma-related symptoms can also prevent a person from thriving. The limbic system, which detects novelty and threat, becomes overactive, which can result in hypervigilance and anxiety. When abuse happens repeatedly to children, their brains become wired to be on high alert. Under duress, the brain struggles to focus, organize, remember, and think.
It’s important to recognize that these symptoms are not something you have to endure alone. Seeking professional help is crucial when experiencing trauma-related symptoms. It’s not a sign of weakness but a brave step towards healing.
- Hypervigilence: Hypervigilence is when your brain and body feel on high alert. You might think that you must watch your back, keep track of the exit in a venue, or be aware of who and what is in your environment at all times. This hypervigilance is how your brain and body might believe it keeps you safe.
- Dissociation: We all dissociate from time to time. The standard form feels like spacing out, functioning on automatic pilot, or daydreaming. Some other less common forms of dissociation are feeling out of body, feeling like you are sleepwalking, or like you aren’t real. The most severe forms of dissociation can result in losing awareness of what one is doing or acting like someone else with no recollection. Dissociation is how your brain protects you from painful experiences.
- Flashbacks: Flashbacks can be emotional or visual. An emotional flashback involves reliving the emotions or shock of a traumatic event. Visual flashbacks involve replaying the images and memories of the events. Flashbacks are intrusive and unwanted. They can occur during times of stress or conflict.
- Aggression: Trauma can lead your body into a fight/flight/freeze/fawn response. The fight response can be activated when you least expect it. Aggression can be towards oneself or others.
- Relationship struggles: Relationship struggles could result from a lack of trust or feelings of safety with others. If someone has harmed you in the past, it can be hard to trust again. Relationship struggles can also result from aggression and dissociation.
- Depression: Depression is a low mood state that can feel like low self-worth, lack of motivation, deep sadness, low energy, and sometimes suicidal ideation.
- Anxiety: Anxiety can also feel like hypervigilance. Anxiety can be mild or severe. Symptoms include excessive worry, intrusive thoughts, waiting for bad things to happen, and thinking of every possible what-if scenario.
It’s important to remember that no one deserves to suffer. It’s not a competition, and your pain is valid. Avoiding therapy or your trauma will not help you avoid pain. Seeking help is a brave and necessary step towards healing.
If you’re needing support to heal from trauma, reach out and book a free 30 minute discovery call.