What is Trauma?
Trauma is distress that occurs when our capacity to emotionally manage an event or series of events is overwhelmed. It can be acute, such as the distress that occurs in the aftermath of a one-time occurrence, such as a motor vehicle accident, or chronic, which is distress that occurs when harmful events are repeated or extended.
Trauma experiences erode a person’s sense of safety and make the world feel like an unstable and unsafe place. The brain becomes hypersensitive to possible threats, which causes oversized stress hormone responses to day-to-day events. When the physical and emotional threat system is constantly engaged, one’s mental and physical health is affected.
Symptoms of a trauma response include:
sleep disturbances
difficulty with relationships
a lessened sense of self-worth
Recovery from trauma experiences is possible via the establishment of a sense of safety and the scaffolding of social support within the life experience of the traumatized person. Self-care, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and using social support networks can promote recovery. It is important to note that people respond differently to difficult circumstances; what one person may experience as trauma may not affect another.
About the Author
Frannie Hartley Horn, JD MA ALC NCC, holds a Special Membership in the Alabama State Bar and is a practicing therapist under the supervision of Carol Hollis-White, LPC-S.
