Analyzing Trauma continued
What is TRAUMA? Mirriam Webster defines trauma as: (I copied and pasted directly from this link, you can access it here. )
“trauma
trau·ma | \ ˈtrȯ-mə also ˈtrau̇- \
plural traumas also traumata\ ˈtrȯ-mə-tə also ˈtrau̇- \
Definition of trauma
1a: an injury (such as a wound) to living tissue caused by an extrinsic agent
b: a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury
c: an emotional upset the personal trauma of an executive who is not living up to his own expectations— Karen W. Arenson
2: an agent, force, or mechanism that causes trauma
Trauma is the Greek word for “wound”. Although the Greeks used the term only for physical injuries, nowadays trauma is just as likely to refer to emotional wounds. We now know that a traumatic event can leave psychological symptoms long after any physical injuries have healed. The psychological reaction to emotional trauma now has an established name: post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. It usually occurs after an extremely stressful event, such as wartime combat, a natural disaster, or sexual or physical abuse; its symptoms include depression, anxiety, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares.“ cited directly from this link Merriam Webster.
How do we recover from trauma? Good question. One source stated there are phases to trauma recovery. Click here to read that article.
In this publication, it states that trauma recovery happens in these phases. (Click any underlined, or bold letters/words to see the article this information is cited from. )
“According to the Extended Transformational Model, trauma recovery happens in five stages:
- Pre-trauma characteristics. These refer to the traits and viewpoints you held before the trauma. You can think of this stage as your general state when the trauma occurs.
- Rumination. In this stage, your brain works to process the trauma and figure out what happened. You may have a lot of strong feelings and intrusive memories at this stage.
- Event centrality. This stage marks a turning point. Here, you take stock of how trauma has changed your life and what you want to do going forward.
- Control. In this stage, you begin taking active steps to change your life and cope with your trauma symptoms.
- Mastery. Here, you begin to adjust to your new, post-trauma life, refining your coping skills as you go. While the trauma may still affect you, at this stage it no longer controls your life.”
Each and every one of us handles trauma differently. You may not go through each phase or step the same as the next person. That’s ok.
What are the signs of emotional trauma?
Psychological Concerns: Anxiety and panic attacks, fear, anger, irritability, obsessions and compulsions, shock and disbelief, emotional numbing and detachment, depression, shame and guilt (especially if the person dealing with the trauma survived while others didn’t) Cited from Google search.
Trauma often causes PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder. Mayo clinic states that PTSD can be caused from a person going through any kind of traumatic event, whether it’s emotional, or physical. (Click here to read the entire article).
What kind of mental disorders can be causes from trauma?
In my experience, here is what has happened to me, personally due to trauma.
| Abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs. (past) |
| Diagnosis of PTSD, BPD, APD, GAD, MDD |
| Unable to function on a daily basis |
| Unable to keep a job |
| Thoughts of suicide, with at least one time having a plan to do so. |
Trauma has been a part of my life since I was born. I know nothing else. I adapted certain coping mechanisms in order to survive. As I got older, they weren’t always healthy coping skills, but they got me through, none the less. (Though I wouldn’t recommend some of those ”coping skills” to anyone else.)
What has saved me these past few years is having a crisis number to call, having my therapist, and having coping skills. You an also text a crisis line now. 741741 is supposed to be a New York based non profit that responds and helps deescalate a situation, and then gets the person in touch with a local entity that can help them for further treatment. I haven’t tried it, yet. I usually call my local crisis line.
There is help. Please reach out to someone if you are feeling suicidal, or having morbid thoughts. Death is a permanent ending to this life on this planet. Permanent.
Here’s a Story 