Experiencing traumatic events and instances can leave a profound impact emotionally, physically, cognitively, and interpersonally. Traumatic experiences may include:
Interpersonal and physical violence, whether in a romantic relationship, friendship, family relationships, or others
Emotional abuse, including name-calling, belittling, dismissing, invalidating, threatening, blaming, controlling, and gaslighting
Sexual abuse or unwanted and inappropriate touch
Emotional neglect or a failure of having emotional needs met
Physical neglect or not having basic needs met (related to hunger, shelter, not having medical needs addressed, not being taken to school, being left to look after themselves at a young age, being left in threatening environments)
Natural disasters
Combat
Death of a loved one
Vicarious trauma (witnessing trauma via media or learning about the detail of trauma that occurred to someone else)
Bullying or being targeted socially
Stalking
Car accidents or serious injuries
Divorce, separation, or breakups
Betrayal trauma such as experiencing infidelity or other breaches of trust in close relationships
Unstable childhood environments including unpredictable emotions, events, or people
Medical trauma
Community violence
Institutional trauma such as discrimination and oppression
Racism and systemic abuse
Displacement and migration
Sexual assault
Harassment
Experiencing trauma, no matter in what form, has been shown to impact us on a multitude of levels, including physically (how our body responds to a perceived threat), emotionally (how we experience, identify, and cope with our emotions), cognitively (our beliefs about ourselves, others, the world, our future, and more), and interpersonally. Common symptoms of experiencing trauma include:
Heightened emotional reactivity
Hypervigilance of environments and others' emotions
Flashbacks, nightmares, or insomnia
Avoidance of memories, situations, or people that are reminders of trauma
Impaired memory of the traumatic experiences
Difficulty focusing and with attention
Heightened startled response
Increased negative emotions, including irritability, tension, and anxiety
Feelings of guilt, self-blame, shame, and hopelessness
Dissociation, detachment, or emotional numbing
Increased risky behavior, such as substance use or placing self in unsafe situations
People pleasing, difficulty setting and maintaining boundaries, or avoiding conflict at all costs
Difficulty trusting self and others
Working with trauma requires specialized training to provide trauma-informed care. There are several different approaches to trauma therapy, including psychodynamic therapy, relational therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).
Trauma is unique to the individual in its presentation, so requires proper assessment to best tailor treatment. Trauma therapy can include any of the following:
Information about what trauma is and how it impacts your brain, body, thoughts, feelings, and behavioral urges
A better understanding of how experiencing this trauma impacts your life currently
Identification of triggers and how best to navigate them when they arise
Recognition and acknowledgment of the impact that trauma has had
Regaining a sense of control and empowerment
Utilizing evidence-based approaches to reprocess and integrate distressing memories
Skills for emotion regulation, communication/assertiveness, disengaging, and grounding
Increased capacity for self-compassion and acceptance of ourselves
Learn more about trauma here.
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