Medicine?
Trauma often occurs as a result of life-threatening events such as combat, assault, rape, domestic violence, child abuse, accidents, and natural disasters. Increasingly, researchers are realizing, however, that trauma and stress are defined more by the effect on the person than the type of event. If the event deeply disturbed or damaged the person's sense of safety, self-worth, or personal power, then they may suffer from traumatic stress.
For example, children have been traumatized by being bullied, rejected, caught in an embarrassing situation, exposed to family conflict, or stood up by a divorced parent who was supposed to visit. Similarly adults have experienced emotional trauma as a result of divorce, sudden deaths of loved ones, medical procedures, or even being treated insensitively during a time of vulnerability. Some people are able to work through trauma or loss without professional help because of the unique resources in their lives. Many trauma survivors, however, develop distressing emotional and physical symptoms that restrict their lives either in limited or more pervasive ways.
Classic signs of PTSD include hypervigilance, being easily startled, flashbacks of the event, intrusive or disturbing thoughts or images, nightmares, and avoidance of places, people, or objects related to the event. Even without these symptoms, people may still experience significant levels of traumatic stress. Their current perceptions, experiences, behavior, and relationships are ruled by past events and by the beliefs, emotions, and physical sensations associated with these memories.
Without warning they may become flooded with feelings of anxiety, powerlessness, rage, shame, guilt, fear, inadequacy, jealousy, humiliation, or envy when circumstances do not seem to warrant such reactions. They may no longer consciously connect the disturbing emotions and bodily sensations to past events, which prevents them from productively processing and resolving theses disturbing experiences.
For more information on trauma treatment, visit EMDR.
Potential Signs
& Symptoms
- Avoid certain things, places, people or activities
- Chronic pain or fibromyalgia
- Compulsive behaviors
- Difficulty controlling emotions
- Difficulty trusting
- Disturbing memories
- Easily startled
- Feel disconnected or detached
- Flashbacks
- Hypervigilence
- Intense anger, fear, sadness
- Intense shame/guilt
- Intrusive thoughts
- Nightmares/poor sleep
- Panic attacks
- Sexual difficulties
