People who go through a traumatic experience go through a lot of mental and physical stress that can make it hard for them to recover without professional help. Drama on the other hand consists of our personal reaction to things and the way that we interpret events that aren't objectively painful.
If you can recall times when you've overreacted, and perhaps have even been surprised at your own reactions, this may be a sign of trauma. It's not uncommon for people suffering from emotional trauma to have feelings of shame and self-blame.
Emotional Trauma Symptoms
Not everyone responds to trauma in exactly the same way, but here are some common signs: Cognitive Changes: Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks of the event, confusion, difficulty with memory and concentration, and mood swings.
Initial reactions to trauma can include exhaustion, confusion, sadness, anxiety, agitation, numbness, dissociation, confusion, physical arousal, and blunted affect. Most responses are normal in that they affect most survivors and are socially acceptable, psychologically effective, and self-limited.
If you're asking why do I feel like my trauma isn't valid, you might be spending too much time comparing your trauma to other's. Some people can handle a single event better than a long-term situation.
The brain can retain these sensory perceptions regardless of whether the trauma was chronic or acute. If the trauma is left untreated, one can experience nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, depression, phobias, substance abuse, panic attacks, anger, irritability, or hopelessness.
Smiling is a way to “protect” therapists.
By downplaying their pain they are attempting to minimize the upset they believe they are causing. Laughing while recounting something painful says, “I'm OK, you don't have to take care of me. ' Instead, clients are actually attempting to take care of their therapists.
Attachment and relationships
Another warning flag of childhood trauma that carries over into adulthood are problems forming attachments and relationships. For example, if your childhood trauma was caused by a loved one or caregiver, you may learn to mistrust adults.
Most people are indeed entirely unaware that they are suffering from trauma at all. Many put their symptoms and negative experiences down to stress which is often vague and unhelpful, particularly when trying to get to the core of the problem.
A traumatic event is time-based, while PTSD is a longer-term condition where one continues to have flashbacks and re-experiencing the traumatic event. In addition, to meet criteria for PTSD there must be a high level of ongoing distress and life impairment.
Women with PTSD may be more likely than men with PTSD to: Be easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions or feel numb. Avoid things that remind them of the trauma.
Daydreaming. Other subtle signs of trauma are “zoning” or “spacing out.” You might feel disconnected from others or have difficulty staying present in social situations. Emotional trauma can cause you to slow down internally, numbing your emotions or causing you to feel exhausted.
The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized. Emotional and psychological trauma can be caused by: One-time events, such as an accident, injury, or a violent attack, especially if it was unexpected or happened in childhood.
They bring back strong memories. You may feel like you're living through it all over again. Triggers can include sights, sounds, smells, or thoughts that remind you of the traumatic event in some way. Some PTSD triggers are obvious, such as seeing a news report of an assault.
Some unpleasant experiences produce permanent changes in the brain and corresponding shifts in intelligence, emotional reactivity, happiness, sociability, and other traits that used to be thought of as set for life.
Chronic trauma (or complex trauma) is when something highly stressful happens over and over again, or lasts a long time. Often when people talk about complex trauma, it refers to going through abuse or severe neglect as a child. [1] It can also refer to other domestic violence or stress within your broader community.
Emotional Symptoms of Trauma
Intrusive thoughts or flashbacks related to the traumatic event. Intense feelings of fear, anxiety, or panic. Avoidance of reminders or triggers associated with the trauma. Hypervigilance or being constantly on guard for potential threats.
These are all great topics to discuss, but it can prove challenging to distill these larger ideas into practice. But, when we talk about apologizing, we wrap all of these complex concepts up into a single practice. It's a common trauma-state response to want to avoid conflict.
Physical Symptoms of Trauma
Trauma often manifests physically as well as emotionally. Some common physical signs of trauma include paleness, lethargy, fatigue, poor concentration and a racing heartbeat. The victim may have anxiety or panic attacks and be unable to cope in certain circumstances.
Symptoms include severe anxiety, flashbacks, and persistent memories of the event. Another symptom of PTSD is avoidance behaviors. If a person tries to avoid thinking about the traumatic event, visiting the place where it occurred, or avoiding its triggers, it can be a sign of PTSD.
Therapists also recognize that crying is not always a sign of distress but can also be cathartic and lead to personal growth. For example, some people may cry when they come to terms with difficult life experiences or when they achieve something meaningful that was previously out of reach.
Humor can be used to change your perspective of the trauma from serious to lighthearted, which may help to regulate stressful emotions. In short, laughing and making light of matters that feel serious or heavy may help relieve the emotional effects of the trauma.
Unresolved trauma can have serious physical, psychological, and emotional consequences, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and even physical health complications. Online therapy can be a solution for those who may not have access to a therapist, or just prefer the privacy of their own home.