Psychological trauma will normally occur soon after a specific event that is stressful or after a series of stressful events. The result from this type of trauma will leave you in a situation where you are unable to cope because of being completely overwhelmed. Most of these type of traumas are totally unexpected and our reactions may appear to be disturbing or unusual. The truth of the matter is though that these unique reactions are to be expected after any psychological trauma.
Post traumatic stress disorder is a term that is used quite often to describe the various symptoms of psychological trauma. It is a type of anxiety disorder that can lead to severe symptoms such as insomnia or flashbacks. That does not mean that everyone who experiences a traumatic event will suffer from post traumatic stress disorders.
There are mild symptoms and more severe symptoms because of the various severities of psychological trauma. The majority of mild symptoms will soon disappear but the more severe symptoms may often require professional help and treatment. What is trauma counselling good for? If you suffer from a severe symptom of psychological trauma you should seek professional help as soon as you can.
There can be multiple causes for anyone who suffers from psychological trauma. This condition is very subjective but the common factor with all forms of psychological traumas is the feeling of being in a situation that is not acceptable. This may be either social, emotional or physical. Traumatic experiences are never anticipated and this makes the experience even harder to deal with.
Once again, what is trauma counselling good for? Let’s say for example that you have recently been involved in a car accident. A car accident is an obvious situation that can lead to a traumatic response. Your response will be heightened if you are responsible for causing injuries to someone else. This will be further increased if it is someone that you know or love. Even if you do not cause any injuries at all you still will experience a traumatic response. This response is often associated with shock.
Another example of a traumatic response is anyone who develops cancer. Cancer affects everyone involved. It will affect obviously the victim but it will also affect family members, friends and even medical support staff. This type of psychological trauma can change the way a person thinks and acts. It can affect their personalities or even their primary motor skills.
In the world today we see many natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, and major fires. All of these natural disasters can affect people in a traumatic way. People who have to live through these type of disasters will be affected for years to come. Even people who do not live in the disaster area are affected by the reports of these type disasters around the world.
Another common situation that causes huge numbers of traumatic psychological responses is war. In the 20th century there has only been a few years where there have been no wars going on at some location on earth. There has been constant warfare for the majority of those years and this warfare is often horrific. Innocent victims who live with constant fear and danger will suffer from various degrees of psychological trauma.
What is trauma counselling in relation to rehabilitation? Psychological trauma requires a lot of physical rehabilitation and emotional support. As mentioned previously these type of experiences can change your life forever in a negative way. If you are required to live with chronic pain or physical scarring because of a traumatic experience that was out of your control, you will be effected.
An additional form of psychological trauma for many people is the never ending fear of physical violence from criminals. Many of the largest cities in the world are completely out of control in regards to home invasions, robberies, murders, rapes and muggings. People feel helpless and are often prisoners in their own home. Over time this constant stress and fear will cause symptoms that are traumatic in nature.
One of the more common symptoms for people who suffer from these type of experiences is insomnia and nightmares. They will also experience horrific flashbacks that are as real as if the event was happening again. All of this will require professional treatment and counseling. These feelings without professional counseling can often lead to other more severe anxiety disorders such as panic attacks. Therefore, if you suffer from psychological trauma you need to visit a
Other common symptoms of psychological trauma include:
- Flashbacks – When you re-experience the traumatic event mentally or physically.
- Insomnia – After a traumatic experience it is common to have difficulties sleeping due to nightmares or due to mentally going over details of the event.
- Anxiety – Feeling constantly anxious after a trauma is very common. Sometimes these feelings turn into anxiety disorders such as PTSD or panic attacks.
- Stress – Even if you handled stress very well before your experience, many people find stress harder to manage after a traumatic event.
- Anger – Feeling angry after a trauma is very common. You might be angry at the person who traumatised you, at the event itself or even at the world. This can lead to outbursts and other anger management issues.
- Depression – Many people fall into a depression after experiencing something very distressing. You can be left wondering why the event happened to you – leading to dark moods and in severe cases, suicidal thoughts.
- Loss of self-esteem – It can be easy to lack self-belief and self-confidence after you have experienced something traumatic. You can be left questioning your identity and what you have to offer the world.
- Self-medication – For some, the only way they feel they can deal with what happened is by self-medicating with alcohol or drugs. This leads to very self-destructive behaviour and can isolate you from friends and family.
- Emotional detachment – For some, the emotions brought up are so severe that they cannot deal with them at all. This can lead to emotional numbness, also known as dissociation. You may refuse to deal with any psychological issues you have and could appear cold and distant to others.
Understanding post-traumatic stress
It is important to emphasise that there are no right or wrong ways to react after a traumatic experience. Everyone’s reactions will be individual and not everybody will experience all of the feelings described above, nor experience them to the same degree.
Individual reactions will vary from those of other people for a number of reasons, including:
- differences in personality
- differences in ways of expressing emotion
- differences in styles of coping
People also vary in terms of:
- their previous experiences of trauma
- the extent to which there are other stresses and strains in their life
- the amount of support and help they have
- their capacity to understand and process their reactions/responses to trauma
qualified counselor immediately.