Talking about the trauma, even just trying to put what happened into words, can actually worsen a victim's trauma by re-activating it in the brain, and embedding it deeper.
When somebody experiences a traumatic event, they're often supported by people in social work, legal and clinical contexts who ask them repeatedly to recount their personal stories. This retelling of these events can exacerbate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and potentially re-traumatize the person.
Key points. Many people benefit from talking about past trauma, and several cultures and professions encourage such sharing. Some people choose not to discuss trauma. Instead, they focus on other people's issues or more pleasant topics, keeping traumas hidden.
Talking about the traumatic memories with a trained therapist can provide the patient with education about their symptoms so they don't feel so alone and out of control. Talking can desensitize people to their memories, which gradually allows them to stop avoiding reminders of the trauma.
Science suggests that it depends, in part, on how you share and how people respond to you. Expressing our emotions often to others may actually make us feel worse, especially if we don't find a way to gain some perspective on why we feel the way we do and take steps to soothe ourselves.
This is a psychological phenomenon known as emotional numbness. It's something our mind does to help us cope when we're flooded with big emotions. Emotional numbing can have a significant impact on mental health, leading to feelings of detachment, apathy and a lack of interest in activities that once brought joy.
“Trauma dumping is the unfiltered sharing of strong emotions or upsetting experiences without permission from the listener.” When someone experiences any of the many types of trauma, they often feel overwhelmed and seek relief by sharing their story. Unfortunately, this can backfire.
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.
The crying can be a way for the nervous system to come down from the fight-or-flight response, since crying is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system which calms the mind and body. The sadness can also come from feeling overwhelmed by a world that feels terribly threatening.
Thankfully, there are ways therapy can help, without the need to explain the trauma in detail, or to go over it again and again. Two types of therapy that can be conducted without detailed disclosure are; rewind technique, which this article focuses on, and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR).
Other symptoms may include hypervigilance and an exaggerated startle response as well as feelings of guilt or shame. People with unresolved trauma may also feel irritable or easily angered, have difficulty concentrating and making decisions, or be prone to self-destructive behaviors such as substance abuse.
Not speaking and staying quiet can create and continue negative consequences, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Not speaking about what happened does not make it go away, it continues the symptoms that are causing issues in your life.
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.
For some, talking about their trauma is an initial step toward healing. But for others, sharing an experience and then having the response be negative can harm recovery. It can shut them down and lock the psychological vault, if not for forever, then at least for a long time.
Trauma might show up as anxiety, depression, isolation, fear, pain (emotional and physical), shame, embarrassment, disordered eating, or alcohol abuse. The reality is, because trauma happens on the inside not the outside the chances are we are all living our lives with differing levels of trauma.
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.
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.
' Crying can lower your blood pressure, decrease manganese levels (which can cause additional anxiety) and remove toxins and bad energy which will all help someone with PTSD.
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.
To wrap things up, think and talk about trauma at your own pace. Studies on the technique of debriefing—or assisting people in processing their emotions just a few days after a potentially traumatic experience—have shown to be at best neutral and at worst may even lead to a greater chance of PTSD.
In most cases, people-pleasing behavior is motivated by insecurity and low self-esteem caused by trauma bonds in childhood. People who were neglected, mistreated, or abused by their caregivers tried to please them in the hope of receiving attention and better treatment.
While venting can be a natural part of working through our negative emotions, does it become toxic at a certain point? It turns out, it can. And that's when venting becomes trauma dumping — the act of oversharing your emotions in a way that becomes harmful to the other person.
You're intentional about what you share and aware that you're venting. You may say something like, “Can I just vent for five minutes?” Trauma dumping: With trauma dumping, you overshare difficult or intimate personal information without the other person's consent or during inappropriate times.
Dissociative amnesia is associated with traumatic events because you may forget or block out a memory from the trauma. For example, if you were sexually assaulted, you may not remember specific details of the assault.