Recognizing and Dealing with the Effects of Trauma

It’s not uncommon in our everyday lives to encounter situations that are either potentially unsafe or emotionally overwhelming. This can happen to our loved ones or to us, leaving an impact on our lives. When we encounter such situations, they may affect us in such a way that we can be said to have experienced trauma.

While trauma can have a debilitating effect on a person’s life, that trauma doesn’t have the final say. With help, it is possible to reclaim your sense of peace.

Understanding Trauma

Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer-term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea. – American Psychological Association

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Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to your life or safety. In addition, any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma, though it may not involve an element of physical harm. Your subjective emotional experience of the event is what determines whether it is traumatic. The more terrified and vulnerable the event makes you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized by it.

If you or a family member has experienced trauma, it can have a profound and lasting impact on your life. Knowing what trauma is and how it affects you can help you take active steps to address trauma so that you can live a full and productive life.

Different Types of Trauma

There are different types of trauma. Depending on the type of trauma you’ve experienced, the path to recovery and wholeness will differ. Psychological trauma can leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people; additionally, it can leave you struggling with upsetting memories, emotions, and anxiety that won’t go away.

Events that are extraordinarily stressful and that destroy your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world, can lead to emotional and psychological trauma. A wide array of things can cause emotional and psychological trauma.

Intense one-time events can cause trauma. This could include things like a car accident, injury, or a violent attack, such as a mugging. The sudden death of a loved one, the breakup of a significant relationship, or a humiliating or deeply disappointing experience can also lead to trauma.

Being caught in a natural disaster or being repeatedly exposed to the trauma of others can also cause trauma. People such as first responders or those in caring professions often experience vicarious trauma.

Ongoing and persistent stress can result from experiencing traumatic events that occur repeatedly. This includes experiencing bullying, domestic violence, or childhood neglect. Ongoing stress can also emerge from living in a dangerous neighborhood or dealing with a life-threatening disease or chronic illness.

What are some of the effects of trauma?

Trauma has effects that hit you immediately, in the aftermath of the event, and effects that linger long afterward. The lingering effects of trauma can disrupt your life in significant ways. That is why you should learn to recognize the effects of trauma so that you can address it sooner rather than later.

When you first experience trauma, some of the initial reactions can include feelings of fatigue, anxiety, agitation, numbness, confusion, sadness, hyperarousal, and dissociation. If you’ve lost someone, you may experience grief.

Some other physical, emotional, and mental effects of trauma occur soon after the traumatic event and last for a while. They include:

Flashbacks – reliving aspects of a traumatic event or feeling as if it is happening now

Alcohol and Substance Abuse – this is an unhealthy way someone might try to cope with difficult memories or emotions

Low Self-Esteem – trauma can negatively affect the way you value and perceive yourself

Panic Attacks – a type of fear response which is an exaggeration of your body’s response to danger, stress, or excitement

Self-Harm – hurting yourself as a way of trying to cope, including harming parts of your body that were attacked or injured during the traumatic event

Sleep Problems – it can become hard to fall or stay asleep, you may feel unsafe at night, or feel anxious or afraid of having nightmares

Suicidal Feelings – including being preoccupied by thoughts of ending your life, thinking about methods of committing suicide, or making plans to take your own life

Poor Physical Health – some studies suggest that trauma can make a person more vulnerable to developing physical health problems, including long-term or chronic illnesses

Trauma can affect your everyday existence. It can create difficulty in areas as diverse as holding a job down, taking care of yourself, maintaining relationships, making decisions, coping with change, remembering things, or coping with change. If you find that your life has been affected in any of these ways by a traumatic event, seek the help of a mental health professional to help you begin to reclaim your well-being and sense of peace.

Dealing with the Effects of Trauma

To begin dealing with the effects of trauma, you first need to acknowledge that what you experienced, and its aftermath, was traumatic. Some events can be so traumatic that people don’t want to revisit them in their minds or in a conversation. However, even if you don’t actively think or talk about the traumatic event you experienced, it can continue to have an impact on your life.

The undercurrent of that trauma makes itself felt throughout your life, so it is better to address it head-on under the care and supervision of a therapist who specializes in dealing with trauma.

In addition to receiving counseling, other interventions include:

• Exercise to repair your nervous system and restore your body’s natural equilibrium
• Connect with others through social activities. The key here is to avoid isolating yourself and withdrawing from others. You don’t have to talk about your trauma when you connect with others. But ask for support from someone like a loved one or a spiritual advisor, because it is important to have someone you can share your feelings with who will listen attentively without judging you. You can also join a support group for trauma survivors.
• Regulate your nervous system through mindful breathing exercises. Acknowledge your feelings about the trauma as they arise, and accept them.
• Take self-care seriously. Eat and sleep well because those are your body’s natural mechanisms for repairing itself. Good food, such as fresh fruit, leafy green vegetables, and omega-3-rich foods such as salmon, helps you to stay healthy, minimizing mood swings and helping you to boost your mood. Sugary foods give a temporary sugar boost with an inevitable crash.

Avoid alcohol and drugs as a means of soothing your feelings or quietening your thoughts. They only lead to other problems down the road, and alcohol has a depressing effect on your central nervous system. Where you can, reduce stress by making time for the things you enjoy and limiting the pressure you put yourself under at work.

Where trauma lingers and affects your day-to-day existence, the help of a trauma therapist can help you regain the peace and joy you long for. When you choose a therapist, it is important that you choose someone who is specially trained in dealing with trauma.

You may find that some therapists have a significant track record of helping people who have suffered the particular trauma you’ve experienced. Feel free to ask questions of your prospective therapist, because the journey toward healing is best undertaken in a space where there’s trust and a sense of safety.

Working through your trauma can be daunting, uncomfortable, and potentially re-traumatizing. You want to make sure that the person you’re working with not only knows what they’re doing but also makes you feel comfortable, safe, respected, and understood. Though it may take time to find the right therapist, putting in that work up front will help in the long term.

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