What is Trauma?
Trauma is a psychological, emotional and physical response that often results from living through a painful or shocking experience. To put it in simple terms, trauma is anything that overwhelms you and your nervous system's ability to cope. Any experience that is too much, too soon, too fast - or too little for too long. A break-up, a sudden loss or unexpected life challenge, surgery, an emotionally unavailable or abusive relationship or caregiver, being the victim of violence or bullying, a car accident, serious illness, living through a natural disaster or war. Trauma can harm your sense of safety, sense of self, and your ability to regulate emotions and navigate relationships. Long after the traumatic event occurs, you may often feel shame, helplessness, powerlessness, intense fear and a sense that you cannot heal or handle what life brings.
Shock Trauma
Shock trauma relates to what can happen in our bodies after an event such as a car accident (even a minor one), a physical or sexual assault or any circumstance where we were suddenly and powerfully affected bodily, mentally and emotionally. Simply going through these experiences in and of themselves does not necessarily result in shock trauma and PTSD. It is when we are unable to respond effectively to the event (either by escaping or protecting ourselves) and unable to release the enormous energy built up in the body in such circumstances. We become overwhelmed – shocked – and the energy that should be there to power our natural survival responses becomes frozen and stuck. Having ‘nowhere to go’, this trapped energy can result in symptoms like:
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Over-alert and easily startled – feeling ‘on-guard’
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Reacting irritably to trivial things, restlessness
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Exaggerated emotional reactions, and extreme mood-swings
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Sleeping poorly
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Panic attacks
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Flashbacks and nightmares
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Numbness and lack of feeling
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Feeling ‘frozen’, disconnected or ‘spaced-out’ (dissociated)
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Unexplained medical disorders
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Muscle tightness and pain
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Headaches
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Chronic fatigue
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Psychosomatic illnesses
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Fibromyalgia, asthma
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Skin problems
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Digestive problems
Developmental Trauma
As infants, from the first trimester during pregnancy, through child birth and for our early years of life we are entirely dependent on our caregivers to meet all of our basic needs. Consistent attunement and presence is an essential necessity as we develop. But ongoing neglect (misattunement) without proper and prompt reattunement deeply disrupts an infant’s experience of feeling cared for. Infants, toddlers, and children who experience this disruption on a continuing basis grow physically (although even physical growth can be stunted) but, emotionally, the foundations for forming healthy relationships, feeling safe in the world, and feeling self-confident are deeply damaged. Additionally, developmental trauma is the result of what may seem like minor childhood experiences of being mistreated or abused that have been repeated many times. These include verbal and other forms of abuse, neglect or manipulation by a parent. Adults who did not frequently experience healthy care and consistent attunement as children are often unable to attune to themselves and their own needs. Developmental trauma can manifest a wide variety of symptoms such as: depression, anxiety, difficulty processing emotions, relationship and attachment issues, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, bi-polar, personality disorders (especially borderline personality disorder), PTSD, cognitive impairment, speech delay, other learning disabilities and more.
