What is Trauma?

Trauma can leave you with a sense of derealization.

The word trauma gets used for a lot of different unpleasant situations. Sometimes, it can get overused and applied to things that are merely upsetting. You might be wondering “what is trauma, and have I been traumatized?” I will explain what trauma is and how to tell if you have been traumatized.

Overwhelmingly upsetting events

The short answer is trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event. As physician and trauma expert Gabor Mate explained in The Myth of Normal, trauma is “not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.” Your response might be one of shock, denial, and then eventually, emotional dysregulation. Your mind, body and soul are struggling to adapt to something that overwhelmed your normal coping abilities. That adaptation might be useful in the moment of the event, but over time, it may not be as helpful.

If you were mistreated as a child, it may have impacted you more than if it occurred as an adult. However, adults who suffer from trauma suffer plenty as well. While some people can respond resiliently and not develop serious effects, a smaller percent of people can develop flashbacks, develop impaired relationships, and have physical problems such as headaches, nausea, autoimmune, or digestive problems.

According to Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, trauma overwhelms the nervous system and the way you remember what happened to you. “Trauma is not the story of something that happened back then," he adds. "It's the current imprint of that pain, horror, and fear living inside people.” When you add this layer of traumatization to an event, it narrows down what exactly trauma is. Something can be upsetting, but not alter and overwhelm your nervous system. Normally, you can recover homeostasis (normalcy) after something upsetting. It may still bother you, but with time, you adapt and move on. Trauma stays stuck in your body and mind, causing negative impact for a longer time.

In addition, if you experienced trauma, you might go between two polarized states: numbing and avoidance; and feeling flooded with emotion or painful, frightening reminders of the traumatic incident. This might include intrusive memories, body sensations, images, or nightmares. The traumatic event has taken you outside your window of tolerance and it might be harder to recover as a result.

What can cause trauma?

Some of the experiences that can lead to trauma include:

• Physical assault;

• Sexual assault or rape;

• Workplace harassment or bullying;

• Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse (especially of children, whose nervous systems are still developing);

• Neglect of a child or elderly/dependent adult;

• Living with family members who have mental illness or substance abuse;

• Sudden separation from loved ones;

• Witnessing or being part of domestic violence.

Trauma can occur in our communities and at a global level as well:

• Poverty;

• Deportation and incarceration;

• Extreme bullying in school;

• Various forms of oppression and discrimination;

• Community violence, war or terrorism;

• Invasive medical procedures;

• Involvement in cults and extreme religious groups that do not allow a person to think for themselves.

ACE Studies and Health Outcomes from Trauma

Back in 1998, researchers found that not only did adverse childhood experiences like physical or sexual abuse affect people’s mental health, but also their physical health. The higher the number of ACEs, the more likely the person might be to developing health problems. For example, people with an ACE score of 4 or more are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes; 2 ½ times what likely to acquire STDs; seven times more likely to develop a substance abuse problem with alcohol; 10 times more likely to inject Street drugs; and 12 times as likely to attempt suicide, than people who were not traumatized. In addition, they are more likely to develop mood disorders, emotional problems, and anxiety. If you’d like to learn more about trauma and the ACEs study, you might find this video program helpful.

What is trauma doing to you?

This may be alarming or upsetting to read. However, it’s important to realize that not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will go on to develop psychological or physical problems as a result. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize if past traumatic events are impacting you now.

Trauma can originate from war, poverty, terrorism, and systemic oppression. Photo: Nithin Najeeb.

I also want to note that not everyone who is traumatized develops Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Some people develop mood disorders like major depressive disorder; others develop anxiety disorders or substance use disorders like alcoholism or dependence on street or prescription drugs. All of these disorders can be considered attempts to cope with the aftermath of a traumatic event. There are also people who grow as a result of having gone through trauma. They still suffer in the short term, but they go through positive changes from the trauma as well. In sum, trauma is an extremely upsetting experience that overwhelms our usual coping abilities, and hence our nervous system and memory networks.

The usual responses to trauma are extreme avoidance or numbing or intrusive, repetitive thoughts about the traumatic event. These can come in the form of nightmares, images, flashbacks, or becoming preoccupied with the traumatic event. In some cases, you might have become dissociated from the memory in various ways, such as derealization, depersonalization, and amnesia.

You may know that there was something awful that happened to you, but now you’re unable to recall important parts of the memory. This can be upsetting, to not be able to piece together what happened to you. If you’re like most people, you like to be in control of your thoughts, actions, and what happens to you.

What is trauma treatment?

Thankfully, there are many different ways to treat trauma psychologically. The ways that I have found most helpful are EMDR therapy, Flash Technique, somatic therapy, and hypnosis. All of these methods have been found to be effective and very helpful in restoring a sense of normalcy in your mind so you can integrate the traumatic event into your personal narrative. I would be happy to help you and I invite you to call me or click the button below to find out more.

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