“ EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA”
If you’ve gone through a traumatic experience, you may be struggling with upsetting emotions, frightening
memories, or a sense of constant danger that you just can’t kick. Or you may feel numb, disconnected, and unable
to trust other people.
When bad things happen, it can take awhile to get over the pain and feel safe again. But treatment and support
from family and friends can speed your recovery from emotional and psychological trauma. Whether the traumatic
event happened years ago or yesterday, you can heal and move on.
What is emotional and psychological trauma?
Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of
security, making you feel helpless and vulnerable in a dangerous world. Traumatic experiences often involve a
threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and alone can be traumatic,
even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective facts that determine whether an event is traumatic,
but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely
you are to be traumatized.
A stressful event is most likely to be traumatic if:
• It happened unexpectedly.
• You were unprepared for it.
• You felt powerless to prevent it.
• It happened repeatedly.
• Someone was intentionally cruel.
• It happened in childhood.
Emotional and psychological trauma can be caused by single-blow, one-time events, such as a horrible accident, a
natural disaster, or a violent attack. Trauma can also stem from ongoing, relentless stress, such as living in a crime ridden
neighborhood or struggling with cancer.
Commonly overlooked sources of emotional and psychological trauma:
• Falls or sports injuries
• Surgery (especially in the first 3 years of life)
• The sudden death of someone close
• An auto accident
• The break-up of a significant relationship
• A humiliating or deeply disappointing experience
• The discovery of a life-threatening illness or disabling condition
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):
PTSD is the most severe form of emotional and psychological trauma. Its primary symptoms include intrusive
memories or flashbacks, avoiding things that remind you of the traumatic event, and living in a constant state of
“red alert”. If you have PTSD, it’s important to see a trauma specialist. Risk factors that increase your vulnerability to
trauma. Not all potentially traumatic events lead to lasting emotional and psychological damage. Some people rebound
quickly from even the most tragic and shocking experiences. Others are devastated by experiences that, on the
surface, appear to be less upsetting. A number of risk factors make people susceptible to emotional and psychological
trauma. People are more likely to be traumatized by a stressful experience if they’re already under a heavy stress load or
have recently suffered a series of losses. People are also more likely to be traumatized by a new situation if they’ve been
traumatized before – especially if the earlier trauma occurred in childhood.
Symptoms of emotional and psychological trauma:
Following a traumatic event, most people experience a wide range of physical and emotional reactions. These are
NORMAL reactions to ABNORMAL events. The symptoms may last for days, weeks, or even months after the
trauma ended.
Emotional symptoms of trauma:
• Shock, denial, or disbelief
• Anger, irritability, mood swings
• Guilt, shame, self-blame
• Feeling sad or hopeless
• Confusion, difficulty concentrating
• Anxiety and fear
• Withdrawing from others
• Feeling disconnected or numb
Physical symptoms of trauma:
• Insomnia or nightmares
• Being startled easily
• Racing heartbeat
• Aches and pains
• Fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating
• Edginess and agitation
• Muscle tension
These symptoms and feelings typically last from a few days to a few months, gradually fading as you process the
trauma. But even when you’re feeling better, you may be troubled from time to time by painful memories or
emotions—especially in response to triggers such as an anniversary of the event or an image, sound, or situation
that reminds you of the traumatic experience.
When to seek professional help for emotional or psychological trauma:
Recovering from a traumatic event takes time, and everyone heals at his or her own pace. But if months have
passed and your symptoms aren’t letting up, you may need professional help from a trauma expert.
It’s a good idea to seek professional help if you’re:
• Having trouble functioning at home or work
• Suffering from severe fear, anxiety, or depression
• Unable to form close, satisfying relationships
• Experiencing terrifying memories, nightmares, or flashbacks
• Avoiding more and more things that remind you of the trauma
• Emotionally numb and disconnected from others
• Using alcohol or drugs to feel better
Treatment for psychological and emotional trauma
In order to heal from psychological and emotional trauma, you must face and resolve the unbearable feelings and
memories you’ve long avoided. Otherwise they will return again and again, unbidden and uncontrollable.
Trauma treatment and healing involves:
• Process trauma-related memories and feelings
• Discharging pent-up “fight-or-flight” energy
• Learning how to regulate strong emotions
• Building or rebuilding the ability to trust other people
Trauma self-help strategies:
• Don’t isolate. Following a trauma, you may want to withdraw from others. But isolation makes things
worse. Connecting to others will help you heal, so make an effort to maintain your relationships and avoid
spending too much time alone.
• Ask for support. It’s important to talk about your feelings and ask for the help you need. Turn to a trusted
family member, friend, counselor, or clergyman. You may also want to join a support group for trauma
survivors. Support groups are especially helpful if your personal support network is limited.
• Establish a daily routine. In order to stay grounded after a trauma, it helps to have a structured schedule
to follow. Try to stick to a daily routine, with regular times for waking, sleeping, eating, working, and
exercise. Make sure to schedule time for relaxing and social activities, too.
• Take care of your health. A healthy body increases your ability to cope with stress. Get plenty of rest,
exercise regularly, and eat a well-balanced diet. It’s also important to avoid alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and
drug use can worsen your trauma symptoms and exacerbate feelings of depression, anxiety, and isolation.
Thanks for the share TO! This is a tough one and close to home to me. I like to think I am tough, but not really. PTSD really hit me hard in the last couple of years and I think you may learn to cope or time heals all, or whatever you may want to put in as buzz words, but I also believe it is always with you, for life.
