Sunny Psychology Maroochydore
Trauma
Before you continue, please be aware
Sensitive information regarding (sexual) abuse, violence and trauma are discussed below.
If you feel even mildly triggered, I suggest you skip this page for now and discuss your experience(s) at your future session.
Facing your trauma(s) is a big step and you’re allowed to take your time and ask for support.
You are not alone.
You are seen.
“Trauma is not what happens to us,
but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness”
Sunny Psychology
Types of trauma
Trauma can be physical and/or psychological and depending on the severity of the injury, someone may or may not require extra support to heal. Whether they are small or big, painful events can have significant, long-lasting negative impacts on how our brains develop and functions and thus on how we act and feel about ourselves and others.
Any untreated trauma can have large impacts on our future health. See the ACE studies for some very surprising correlations between trauma and the prediction of certain life events. For instance, did you know that early childhood trauma is linked to learning difficulties, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy? Or that trauma influences insulin production and can theref0re be quite problematic for a diabetes patient?
Trauma
Examples of types of psychological trauma:
- Bullying and harassment
- Grief and loss
- Emotional abuse (name calling, neglect, exclusion)
- Emotional sexual abuse (exposure to explicit material or actions)
- Witnessing a (range of) traumatic incident(s)
- Robbery and assault
- Financial loss
- Court cases
- Exposure to natural disasters
- War and genocide
- Domestic violence
- Sexual violence
- Attachment trauma (separation, fostering, adoption)
- Medical trauma (birth trauma, waking up during surgery, enforced procedures as a child)
Small or big, painful events can have significant, long-lasting
negative impacts on how our brains develop and function and thus
on how we act and feel about ourselves and others.
Symptoms of trauma
Trauma often goes undiagnosed, because it can present as physical symptoms or other psychological symptoms.
Emotional and physical symptoms of trauma may include:
- Sleep problems (incl. nightmares)
- Denial
- Irritability / Anger
- Emotional outbursts
- Fear/anxiety
- Substance misuse
- Depression
- Interpersonal conflict
- Personality disorders
- Fibromyalgia
- Mood swings
- Overeating or undereating
- Shame and/or guilt
- Withdrawing from others
- Flashbacks
- Physical symptoms: heart races & palpitations, headaches, sweating
- Relationship breakdowns
Because in our society we have focused on medication to relief symptoms, many people have gotten used to semi-quick fixes to treat trauma. These medications often do not treat the symptoms, they simply suppress them. A bit like taking pain relief when you have a concussion, it reliefs the pain, but the swelling will need time to heal.
Psychological trauma recovery requires attention and care. Sometimes short term, sometimes for a little bit longer. Keep reading to find out what trauma is and click here to find out how to relieve the symptoms.
