What is trauma?
PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA is a type of damage to the mind that occurs as a result of a distressing event/s. Trauma is the result of an overwhelming amount of stress which floods a person’s body that exceeds the person’s ability to cope, or integrate the emotions involved with that experience. Trauma may result from a single distressing experience (acute trauma) or recurring events (complex trauma). The trauma memories can be triggered over weeks or years leading to profound and lasting changes.
Understanding trauma as a response to an event is key to understanding how victim/survivors of domestic and sexual abuse/violence may think and behave.
There is no standard pattern in how people react to the extreme stress of traumatic experiences. Some people will respond immediately, whilst others may have a delayed reaction. The length of time needed to recover also varies – some people may recover quickly, and others will experience the negative effects of trauma over months or years.
Anyone who has experienced Trauma can be triggered and re-traumatised at any point
- An emotional or psychological trigger refers to something that affects and changes your emotional state often significantly, causing intense emotional or physical responses and prolonged distress
- The trigger could be memories, objects, people, smells, sounds, words as well as events
- A trigger affects your ability to remain present in the moment. It may bring up specific negative thought patterns that influence your behaviour
- Traumatic events can produce profound and lasting changes in a person’s physiological arousal, emotion, cognition, and memory
- Trauma can affect your nervous system, digestive system and immune system.
Trauma reactions are not a sign of emotional or psychological weakness – they are typical reactions to the traumatic experience of domestic abuse
WHAT IS POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)?
It is estimated that 1 in 3 people who experience trauma will go on to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is a mental health condition that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events or set of circumstances. In addition to experiencing higher rates of depression and anxiety than the general population, survivors of domestic and sexual violence are also more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder
Would it help to understand more about trauma and how it impacts someone (body, mind and soul), what trauma informed support is in principle and practice and how working with trauma can affect your staff, please book a free ½ hour consultation.
