But after traumatic events, such as physical or sexual assault, domestic violence or combat, that threaten to rob us of our dignity and spirit, people typically don't tell others. In fact, many trauma survivors either never speak to anyone about what happened to them or wait a very long time to do so.
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.
Going through very stressful, frightening or distressing events is sometimes called trauma. When we talk about emotional or psychological trauma, we might mean: situations or events we find traumatic.
rather than increase, and that others can be trusted to understand and help. In addition to avoidance as a defense, those with traumatic histories have typically developed negative cognitions, interpretations, and mental models.
The reasons for this are multi-fold and likely include shame, perceived stigma of being a “victim,” past negative disclosure experiences and fears of being blamed or told that the event was somehow their fault.
The early effects of trauma
Most people have strong feelings of anger, fear, guilt, sadness, or grief in the days and weeks following trauma. Some people start to feel better as they make sense of what happened to them, while others feel overwhelmed or trapped by intense emotions that won't subside.
Smiling when discussing trauma is a way to minimize the traumatic experience. It communicates the notion that what happened “wasn't so bad.” This is a common strategy that trauma survivors use in an attempt to maintain a connection to caretakers who were their perpetrators.
In conclusion, posttraumatic stress disorder after the intense stress is a risk of development enduring personality changes with serious individual and social consequences.
Right after a trauma, almost every survivor will find it hard to stop thinking about what happened. Stress reactions—such as fear, anxiety, jumpiness, upsetting memories, and efforts to avoid reminders—will gradually decrease over time for most people.
Feeling overwhelming sadness, stress, or having altered eating or sleeping patterns are not uncommon in people who express feeling broken. Some people report feeling physical symptoms, such as body aches and digestive issues. Feelings of guilt, shame, or difficulty concentrating are also signs of emotional strain.
Emotional trauma is recognizable by a persistent sense of unsafety and other challenging emotions such as fear and/or anxiety. It is often accompanied by other physical symptoms as well, such as chronic insomnia, nightmares, and other health issues.
Perhaps one of the most common forms of trauma is emotional abuse. This can be a common form of trauma because emotional abuse can take many different forms. Sometimes it's easy for emotional abuse to be hidden or unrecognized.
PTSD is one of the most well-known trauma disorders. It's estimated to affect around 8 million U.S. adults in a given year. Individuals develop PTSD following a traumatic event. While it's common for initial symptoms to begin in the days following a traumatic event, symptoms can even begin to surface months later.
Trauma can make you more vulnerable to developing mental health problems. It can also directly cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some people misuse alcohol, drugs, or self-harm to cope with difficult memories and emotions. Depending on how you're affected, trauma may cause difficulties in your daily life.
Trauma dumping refers to sharing a traumatic story without thinking about how it will affect the listener, or oversharing in an inappropriate context.
Silence intensifies the impact of trauma, and trauma that goes unspoken, un-witnessed, and unclaimed too often “outs itself” as more violence to self or others.
People who have had a traumatic experience may develop social anxiety symptoms if they are not able to get effective treatment and recover from their trauma. Social anxiety is a type of anxiety disorder that can lead to fear in certain social situations or situations where you are expected to perform.
Research has evidenced that the development of social anxiety disorder is more prevalent among those who have experienced trauma and chronic stress. Some of the traumatic events understood to have predictive value for the onset of social anxiety include: Childhood abandonment or neglect.
If you live with complex trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma dumping or oversharing could be a natural trauma response and coping mechanism.