The Impact of Traumatic Memories
There are many factors that determine whether someone can successfully process the trauma and heal from the broad range of life-altering effects. The memories themselves will never go away, but the power they hold can begin to diminish over time.
Read an old letter, personal journal, or newspaper article. Listen to an old song that you or someone in your family loved. Cook a meal your mom or dad used to make for you. Smell something that may jog your memory, like a book, pillow, perfume, or food.
How does your brain cope with trauma? According to McLaughlin, if the brain registers an overwhelming trauma, then it can essentially block that memory in a process called dissociation -- or detachment from reality. "The brain will attempt to protect itself," she added.
Important properties of trauma memories include involuntary recall, 'nowness', vividness, and immutability. People who have experienced trauma report a wide range of distressing symptoms, many of which are related to the properties of their trauma memories.
Trauma memories are thought to be stored as fragmented pieces throughout the mind, perhaps as a way of buffering the overwhelming emotions associated with what happened. It is believed that repeatedly thinking about the event will help the mind understand what happened and eventually process it.
It's normal to have difficulty recovering from trauma or pain from the past. Just because the experience is over doesn't mean you haven't been deeply affected. It can take time to recognize and understand what's happened and what it means for you. Human beings also have a hard time with change.
Triggers can be people, places, or situations. Thoughts, emotions and sensations can also trigger trauma memories. Triggers can be something specific tied to the memory of the traumatic event (like bridges, the smell of fuel or feeling afraid) or something general (like being in a crowd).
Simply put, when a person experiences something traumatic, adrenalin and other neurochemicals rush to the brain and print a picture there. The traumatic memory loops in the emotional side of the brain, disconnecting from the part of the brain that conducts reasoning and cognitive processing.
The most notable memory disturbances in PTSD involve memory for the trauma itself and are characterized by both vivid involuntary flashbacks of the event and fragmented, disorganized voluntary memories of the event (Brewin, 2011), but there is some debate as to the relative importance of objective (Jones et al., 2007) ...
Trauma is not physically held in the muscles or bones — instead, the need to protect oneself from perceived threats is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala. This activates the body whenever a situation reminds the person of the traumatic event(s).
EMDR therapy changes the way a traumatic memory is stored in your brain using eye movements or rhythmic tapping. This allows you to process the trauma so that you can remember the event without reliving it. EMDR is considered a medical procedure because of the way it changes the structure of the brain.
Symptoms of negative changes in thinking and mood may include: Negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world. Hopelessness about the future. Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event.
Emotional Trauma Symptoms
Psychological Concerns: Anxiety and panic attacks, fear, anger, irritability, obsessions and compulsions, shock and disbelief, emotional numbing and detachment, depression, shame and guilt (especially if the person dealing with the trauma survived while others didn't)
Abstract. Ever since people's responses to overwhelming experiences have been systematically explored, researchers have noted that a trauma is stored in somatic memory and expressed as changes in the biological stress response.
Trauma has lasting effects on the brain. It can become difficult to feel fully alive in the present moment. When we are not living in the moment, we are reliving the past—or fearful of what might happen in the future. Our experiences also shape our beliefs about ourselves.
This response floods our body with "fight or flight" chemicals. The toxic stress caused by childhood trauma can be harmful. It may damage or delay the healthy development of a child's body and brain. This can leave them vulnerable to chronic health problems, risky behaviors, and mental illness as adults.
When trauma impairs your ability to develop full emotional maturity, this is known as arrested psychological development. Trauma can “freeze” your emotional response at the age you experienced it. When you feel or act emotionally younger than your actual age, this is known as age regression.
It's quite another to commit to discussing it with someone else. The truth about trauma therapy is that it may make you feel worse at times. Trauma shatters a person's sense of safety, so it's vital to find a mental health professional you feel comfortable sharing with and trust to lead you through the healing process.
You may have more emotional troubles such as: Feeling nervous, helpless, fearful, sad. Feeling shocked, numb, or not able to feel love or joy. Being irritable or having angry outbursts.