Trauma
What is Trauma?
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An experience that may be perceived and traumatic for one individual may not be interpreted in the same way for another
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Trauma is not what happens to you but what happens inside you – mentally, emotionally, your nervous system
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Trauma overwhelms our capacity to control how we are responding to our environment
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Experience of trauma moves us out of knowing what we are doing to reacting to what is happening
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Trauma results in “disconnection from self”
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Supporting someone who has experienced trauma requires that we accept that a person may be both living in a secure and predictable present, while also experiencing an overwhelming, ever-present, past
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When someone is flooded with traumatic memories and re-living a distressing event, the brain does not know the difference between the present and past
3 Types of Traumas
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Acute trauma results from a single incident, i.e., a car accident or natural disaster.
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Chronic trauma is repeated and prolonged such as domestic violence, abuse, or bullying.
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Complex trauma is exposure to varied and multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature.
4 Categories of Trauma Symptoms
Avoidance Symptoms
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Avoiding specific locations, sights, situations, and sounds that serve as reminders of the event
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Anxiety, depression, numbness, or guilt
Re-experiencing Symptoms
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Intrusive thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks
Hyperarousal Symptoms
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Anger, irritability, and hypervigilance
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Aggressive, reckless behavior, including self-harm
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Sleep disturbances
Negative Mood and Cognition Symptoms
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Loss of interest in activities that were once considered enjoyable
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Difficulty remembering details of the distressing event
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Change in habits or behavior since the trauma
Effects of Trauma
Mental Health
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Negative thoughts and core beliefs
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“I am not enough.” “I am a too much and a burden.”​
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The harmful stories we tell ourselves to make sense of our world
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Shame
Emotional Well-being
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Children do not have the word power to describe or explain how they feel
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Source of frustration, leading to meltdowns
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How emotions are shown
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Hide and stuff emotions; hide behind a smile
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Apathy
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Exploding emotions
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Physical Health
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While the brain may have blocked memories, the body remembers and holds onto trauma
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Aches, pains, tense and sore muscles
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Headaches and migraines
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Autoimmune diseases
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Gastrointestinal issues
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Obesity
Behaviors and Coping Mechanisms
Internal
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Shut down internally
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Build walls
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Trust issues
External
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Oppositional and defiant behavior
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Angry outbursts
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Blatant disregard for people, animals, and property
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Perfectionism
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People pleasing and codependency
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Control
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Risky behaviors – i.e., sexual, drugs/alcohol