What Is Trauma?

When talking about trauma, I often hear "well this happened to me but I’m not sure if that is trauma”, because of this idea that trauma that can only be big horrific life events such as sexual abuse, being in an accident, physical abuse, witnessing or experiencing domestic violence, etc., we often end up diminishing the impact that life experiences have left on us. Trauma is any event that results in a long lasting negative effect on the self and psyche (your mind, thoughts, feelings, attitudes). Based on this definition, events such as the ones previously mentioned are definitely considered trauma, you could call those “big T”; however, there are also “small t”, such as going through a break up, infidelity, experiencing bullying, parents not showing up or being emotionally present growing up, emotional and verbal abuse that can create deeply rooted emotional wounds.

What Are Symptoms of Trauma?

Some symptoms that can help you identify trauma are: unwanted memories or dreams of the stressful experiences, physical reactions like feeling shaky, heart beating fast, or fidgety when thinking about or reminded of the stressful experience, avoiding any reminders like people, places, objects, trouble remembering important parts of the stressful experience, having negative feelings like anger, guilt, shame, fears, and thoughts about yourself, others, or the world, for example “no one can be trusted”, “I’m a failure”, “I’m not good enough”, lack of motivation, feeling emotionally distant or cut off from other people, irritable, taking too many risks, being superalert, easily startled, having difficulty concentrating, and trouble with sleep.

How Can Unprocessed Trauma Affect Your Daily Life?

Unresolved trauma can affect your mental health greatly contributing to persistent anxiety, depression, and unfulfilled relationships. Including difficulty managing emotions like getting easily overwhelmed or frustrated, engaging in self destructive behaviors like substance use or overspending, sleep problems, trust and communication issues in relationships, difficulty concentrating, and constant negative thoughts about yourself that can be detrimental to your confidence.

If you identify with some or all of these symptoms, reach out here to learn how to process and cope with it so you can move on to living a life without the burden of trauma.