What is Trauma
From a psychological point of view, trauma is the reaction that a person has when confronted with experiences that are too difficult or overwhelming to deal with in the moment.
These are often experiences that are threatening to self or others, and can include physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, bullying, natural disasters, severe illness, etc.
Symptoms of a trauma
Individuals who have experienced trauma often struggle with anxiety, low mood, difficulties trusting others, as well as fatigue, sleep difficulties, intrusive thoughts, and may have physical problems, such as headaches, fatigue, as well as other aches and pains.
One set of symptoms related to traumatic experiences is classified as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Common symptoms of PTSD include reliving the traumatic event through nightmares or daytime recollections. Sleep disturbance and depressive features are common, as is feeling detached or numb from one’s surroundings. Finally, there are a group of symptoms more closely related to anxiety, which include nervousness, increased startling, more prone to anger or outbursts.
HOW TO TREAT A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE?
One way of working with trauma related difficulties in psychotherapy is through reprocessing the traumatic events, both emotionally and cognitively, and in this process, making new meaning, putting the experiences into a context that makes sense, and incorporating what has happened into a broader meaning.
This requires a significant amount of trust in your therapist. Focusing on building this trust should take place during the first few sessions.
It is important to remember that reprocessing and incorporating is by no means the only mode of treatment. It should for instance commonly not be used immediately following a traumatic event (such as a shooting or accident).
