TRAUMATIC EVENTS:

 

The number of physical and emotional traumas is high. In the USA, for example, more than 223 million people have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. 90% of people with mental health problems report trauma. Emotional trauma leaves very different consequences, one of the worst of which is clinical post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).

 

In general, trauma is difficult to clearly define, as everyone processes or feels events differently. What one person may see as traumatic, another may see as just a difficult situation. The bottom line is that trauma is unique to the individual, so we can't really define what trauma is and what isn't trauma.

 

Nevertheless, there are situations that most people experience as emotionally traumatic. These events are, for example:

  • neglect by parents, superiors, ...
  • insulting, humiliating, insulting a person, lying about a person, ...
  • bullying by peers, relatives, superiors, subordinates, ...
  • long life or living in areas under high stress (e.g. war zones, constant domestic violence, constant violence at work, constant violence at school, constant existential problems, ...)
  • loss of a loved one
  • separation from partner
  • loss of a beloved animal
  • serious illness - own or loved ones
  • moving to a new place, losing or changing a job, workplace, retirement, going to a new kindergarten, going to a new school, ...
  • the experience of breaking into an apartment, stealing a car, ...
  • experiencing a traffic accident, natural disaster - either as an actual participant or as an eyewitness
  • feeling unaccepted,...
  • the alienation of a favorite toy by adults or peers or someone else, ...
  • body and cognition changes during growth and development (puberty)
  • body and cognitive changes with aging
  • the birth of a new family member
  • negative experience with health problems (operations, inability to get to the doctor on time, medical intervention)
  • ...

The fact is that trauma causes long-term consequences if it is not resolved.

 

If we have experienced something traumatic and cannot resolve it properly, consequences arise, such as, for example:

  • Anxiety. The level of anxiety increases, which can prevent us from living and working normally.
  • Re-experiencing or flashbacks. Even if our trauma actually happened far in the past, we can relive flashbacks of the traumatic event. These flashbacks are triggered by certain events in the present that act as reminders of a traumatic event in the past. These flashbacks are more than just an unpleasant memory, because we relive the traumatic emotions over and over again - the way we felt them when the traumatic event actually happened. More or less constant nightmares may also occur. sleep problems in general.
  • Behavioral changes. In an attempt to forget the past and control their emotions, many people turn to substances such as drugs, alcohol, food, as well as risky and dangerous behavior, which can lead to addiction and behavioral changes related to it (alcoholism, weight problems, eating disorders, dangerous driving, traffic accidents, various crimes...).
  • Health problems. Experiencing high levels of anxiety can lead to a number of serious health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and autoimmune diseases.
  • Cognitive function. When our mind is preoccupied with emotional trauma, cognitive problems such as problems with memory and focus (concentration). In extreme cases, people cannot function successfully and efficiently and work in class or at work, as they cannot concentrate on their tasks. Children, for example, they learn harder, they are restless in class, etc. As adults, we can't stay in a certain workplace, we cause disputes, we can't adapt to the demands of our superiors,...

 

I think it is very important to realize that the experience of trauma is very personal and depends on each person. It is a horror for someone because, for example, got a pimple before a third date with a loved one, another is terrified because he doesn't know whether he and his family will have anything to eat the next day or not, a third is terrified because he saw the emaciated corpse of his best friend who was tortured to death,…

 

It is essential that trauma leaves consequences and that it also leaves consequences for our loved ones, for those who live with us: if trauma is experienced by parents, it has consequences on children, if trauma is experienced by children, it has consequences on the life of the entire family and also in the parents' partnership. 

 

It is necessary to resolve the traumatic event if we do not want to become mentally and/or physically ill, or if we want to live life to the fullest. There are many ways to resolve trauma. But it is always necessary to include both soul and body.

 

Trauma is experienced by all living beings - humans, animals, plants.

 

Trauma is many times defined as the most intense form of stress, and the boundary between stress and trauma is individual. "... The key to understanding traumatic events is the awareness that this is not a medical condition, but an extremely intelligent response of our organism to a situation that was too intense for us to respond to appropriately, and that we could not 'process' at the given moment..." (source Tina Turk's article entitled in Slovene "Travma in stres"/in English: "Trauma and stress", https://tinaturk.si/travma/ dated 6/Nov./2022). 

 

The diagnosis of PTSD or complex PTSD is determined by the degree of impairment of the person and not by the history of the trauma.

The drawing below (source https://psychscenehub.com/psychinsights/complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-cptsd

dated 28/Mar./2023) shows the so-called complex PTSD, which in addition to the basic elements of PTSD, i.e.:

  • re-experiencing the traumatic event in the present,
  • avoiding traumatic memories or reminders and
  • a feeling of immediate danger,

it also includes the field of self-regulation disorders such as

  • negative self-image,
  • emotional dysregulation and
  • problems in mutual relations: