According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.”
Psychological trauma is a response to an event that a person finds highly stressful. Trauma can include being in a war zone, a natural disaster, or an accident. Trauma can cause a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms.
Trauma is divided into three main types: acute, chronic, and complex.
Secondary trauma, or vicarious trauma, is another form of trauma. With this form of trauma, a person develops trauma symptoms from close contact with someone who has experienced a traumatic event.
The symptoms of trauma range from mild to severe. Many factors determine how a traumatic event affects a person, including characteristics, other neonatal health conditions, previous exposure to traumatic events, the type and/or characteristic of the events or events, and the background and approach to how they handle emotions.
A person who has experienced trauma may feel denial, fear, anger, sadness, confusion, shame, anxiety, depression, guilt, hopelessness, irritability and difficulty concentrating.
They may have emotional outbursts, and have difficulty coping with how they feel, or may withdraw from others. A person may also experience flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, or nightmares of the traumatic event.
Trauma can also cause physical symptoms such as headaches, racing heart, fatigue, sweating, feeling jumpy, or having digestive problems. Sometimes, a person will also experience hyper arousal and feels as though they are in a constant state of alertness. This may cause difficulty with sleep. Individuals may develop other mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse problems.
Research indicate as much as 70% of the population may experience a traumatic event at some point. A traumatic experience could be bullying, harassment, sexual abuse, a traffic accident, life threatening illness, sudden loss of a loved one, natural disasters, was, being attacked.
Traumatic events can be isolated or repeated, ongoing events. A person can also experience trauma after witnessing something traumatic happening to someone else. People have different reactions to traumatic events.
PTSD
PTSD develops when the symptoms of trauma persist or get worse in the weeks and months after the stressful event. PTSD is distressing and interferes with a person’s daily life and relationships.
Symptoms include severe anxiety, flashbacks, and persistent memories of the event.
Another symptom of PTSD is avoidance behaviors. If a person tries to avoid thinking about the traumatic event, visiting the place where it occurred, or avoiding its triggers, it can be a sign of PTSD.
PTSD may last for years, although treatment can help people to manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.
Risk factors for developing PTSD may include: previous trauma, physical pain or injury, having little or no support, dealing with other stressors, previous anxiety and depression, and financial difficulty.
Most people who experience a traumatic event do not develop PTSD. The National Institute of Mental Health estimate that the lifetime prevalence of PTSD in the United States is 6.8%.
Research indicates children are extremely vulnerable to trauma because their brains are still developing. Children may experience a heightened state of stress during terrible events, and their bodies release hormones related to stress and fear. Trauma during the developmental stage can disrupt normal brain development.
Trauma, especially ongoing trauma, can significantly affect a child’s long-term emotional development, mental health, physical health, and behavior.
The sense of fear and helplessness may persist into adulthood. It leaves the person at a significantly higher risk of the effects of future trauma.
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