Psychology Facts

▲ Trauma ▲

As a survivor of sexual assault I just want to say :

trauma is a serious thing and should not be taken lightly.
It's not 'trendy' or 'quirky' to say you have trauma when you don't.
Everyone had traumatic events but not everyone has lasting trauma, don't EVER mock, fake, or belittle trauma... EVER

》Psychological trauma is damage to the mind that occurs as a result of a distressing event. Trauma is often the result of an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one's ability to cope, or integrate the emotions involved with that experience.

》Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves us feeling overwhelmed and alone can be traumatic, even if it doesn't involve physical harm. It's not the objective facts that determine whether an event is traumatic, but our subjective emotional experience of the event.

》There are two types of trauma: "Big T" and "little t."

》"Big T" traumas are typically major events like a natural disaster, car accident, war or sexual assault. These events, which often feel life-threatening in the moment because you have almost no control in the situation, can cause lasting mental health consequences after one event.

》"Little t" trauma, on the other hand, includes events that are hard to cope with and distressing but usually not life-threatening. Examples of "little t" trauma range from conflict with a significant other or an abrupt relocation to planning a wedding, getting a divorce or having or adopting a child.

》A common after effect of a traumatic even is dissociation. Dissociation can make you feel disconnected from your thoughts, memories or sense of identity or feel like things are just a bit — off.

》These Include:

derealization, depersonalization, amnesia, identity confusion and identity alteration.

》Experiencing trauma at an early age can physically rewire your brain.

》50 percent of all individuals will be exposed to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime.

》Symptoms of trauma or posttraumatic stress disorder differ for each individual based on the specific experience, but can include:

Scanning for danger in safe situations

Experiencing irritability, anger or aggression

Withdrawn behavior

Recurrent nightmares or flashbacks of the event, feeling as though the life-threatening situation is present again

Typically avoiding places, people, activities or objects that are reminders of the event

Difficulty sleeping

Tending not to go out in public

Feeling depressed and alone

Engaging in risky behaviors such as substance use, gambling, driving fast, etc.

》Research indicates that women are twice as likely to develop PTSD, experience a longer duration of posttraumatic symptoms and display more sensitivity to stimuli that remind them of the trauma.

》Types of trauma:

Natural disaster

Sexual assault

Military combat

Terrorist attacks

Life-threatening illness, injury, or accidents

Secondary trauma, such as first-responder witness of the aftermath of abuse, accidents, death

》In a sample of 100 male and female subjects receiving treatment for substance abuse, more than a third were diagnosed with some form of a dissociative disorder stemming from childhood sexual or physical abuse.

》Boys who experience or witness violence are 1,000 times more likely to commit violence than those who
do not.