Trauma

grayscale photo of mans face
grayscale photo of mans face

Trauma is defined as exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence through direct experience, witnessing, or learning of such events happening to loved ones. Traumatic events are highly stressful by nature and typically incite intense feelings of horror, fear, lack of safety, or panic at the time of exposure.

Traumatic experiences alone do not inevitably lead to long-term traumatic effects or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rather, trauma severity, as well as subjective interpretations, available social supports, and individual resilience levels, interact to determine psychological outcomes post-trauma.

Trauma severity factors like physical harm, perceived threat of death or harm, and intentional human perpetration make it more likely that the brain’s fear circuitry becomes over-sensitized, leading to lasting PTSD symptoms. The developmental stage at which trauma occurs also matters, with childhood trauma being particularly impactful on emotional processing pathways.

Reference

What is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?. Psychiatry.org - What is Posttraumatic Stress

Disorder (PTSD)? (2021). https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-

ptsd#section_0

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Trauma exposure involves experiencing actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. However, traumatic events alone do not inevitably cause enduring traumatic effects or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rather, trauma severity, subjective interpretations, social supports, and individual resilience levels interact to determine outcomes.

The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study importantly shows exposure to abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, and other adversities in childhood dramatically raises lifelong risks for mental health issues, chronic diseases, and early death. The proximal trauma is harmful, but downstream biological and neurological adaptations to highly stressful childhoods also confer lifelong vulnerability to stress, immune dysfunction, relationship instability, self-regulation challenges, and maladaptive coping habits like substance abuse. 

Beyond event-specific factors like life threats and physical harm, Chronic stress in childhood can fundamentally sensitize fear pathways in the brain, dysregulate the stress hormone system, accelerate epigenetic aging, and impair the development of healthy self-soothing and coping capacities. The broader the window of stress sensitization, the more likely later stressful events provoke lasting PTSD symptoms. However, social support post-trauma that provides safety and validation can prevent maladaptive appraisals and unhelpful coping habits. Genetics and neurobiology also drive resilience versus risk trajectories.

Reference

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, June 29). Adverse childhood experiences (aces). CDC.https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

Tips to reduce symptoms caused by Trauma

  1. Trauma-focused therapy - Working with a therapist skilled in treatments like EMDR, prolonged exposure, or cognitive processing therapy can help safely process memories while rebuilding healthy thought patterns.

  2. Self-care and lifestyle factors - Getting regular exercise, quality sleep, a balanced diet, and incorporating stress management tools like yoga and meditation helps stabilize mood and builds resilience.

  3. Support groups and community - Connecting with others who have experienced trauma helps reduce isolation while providing validation and psychoeducation. Groups provide healing connection and trauma-informed support.

  4. Expressive arts and journaling - Creative outlets like art therapy or narrative writing provide alternative ways to explore trauma and work through associated emotions or limiting beliefs that drive symptoms.

  5. Regulation skills - Simple grounding activities like breathwork, movement, mindfulness, and tracking sensations engage the body to assist with emotion regulation, "unfreezing" to prevent dissociation.

  6. Safety planning - Identifying coping strategies, trusted supports, high risk situations, and thoughts or feelings preceding unsafe states equips trauma survivors to limit stress and navigate setbacks.

Reference

Trauma and violence. SAMHSA. (2023). https://www.samhsa.gov/trauma-violence.