Trauma

Trauma refers to the body or mind being overwhelmed by traumatic events. Psychological trauma in particular occurs as a result of a distressing event that leads the sufferer to question their beliefs while destroying their assumptions of trust. If you have experienced a traumatic event, you may feel socially disconnected and somewhat numb, leading to feelings of isolation. On top of this, you may find yourself feeling more afraid and vulnerable than before the event.

Psychological trauma is the mind's reaction to an event and not everyone will react to the same event in the same way - for example, some people would find falling from a height traumatic, while others choose to jump out of planes for fun. Trauma also affects people in different ways and for some, the symptoms take weeks, months or even years to surface.

- Regardless of its source, an emotional trauma contains three common elements:

- it was unexpected;

- the person was unprepared; and

- there was nothing the person could do to prevent it from happening.

What is psychological trauma?

Psychological trauma usually occurs after a particularly distressing event or a series of enduring events. The result of this can lead you to feel totally overwhelmed and unable to cope. These events are typically so far outside what we expect and what we believe that our reactions can seem somewhat unusual or even disturbing. Reactions like this are normal though, and should be expected after trauma.

The most common term used to describe the symptoms of psychological trauma is posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Categorized as an anxiety disorder, PTSD occurs after a traumatic event and refers to ongoing, severe symptoms such as flashbacks and insomnia. Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will go on to develop PTSD. There are different severities of psychological trauma, some symptoms are mild and may go away with time, while others can be more severe (such as PTSD) and will require professional treatment. When it comes to trauma, the sooner you seek help the better.