Trauma

Trauma isn’t just a quick reaction to a tough event; it’s a lasting emotional response that can affect our mental and physical health for years. Raising awareness about trauma is essential for creating a compassionate society and promoting healing. Here’s what you need to know:

What is Trauma?

Trauma is how we emotionally respond to deeply distressing or disturbing events. This can include experiences like physical or emotional abuse, accidents, natural disasters, war, or the sudden loss of a loved one. Trauma overwhelms our ability to cope, making us feel helpless and shaking our sense of self and safety

Trauma is a subjective phenomenon, not an objective thing. What may overwhelm and traumatise one person may not have the same effect on another.

Traumatic experiences usually (but not always) include some form of direct threat to a person’s life, safety, psychological sanity or bodily integrity and security.

Whether a person becomes traumatised by such an experience depends on many factors, including the situation at the time and whether understanding support was available or not, and whether there was an opportunity for the person to tell others who could compassionately acknowledge what the survivor had been through.

Types of Trauma

  • Acute Trauma: Comes from a single incident, like a car accident or natural disaster.
  • Chronic Trauma: Stems from prolonged or repeated events, like ongoing abuse or
    domestic violence.
  • Complex Trauma: Involves multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal
    nature.

Some Common Experiences of Trauma

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Often powerful one-off experiences like accidents, floods, bushfires, crimes, witnessing violent deaths, such as war veterans. Or repeated chronic experiences such as child abuse, neglect, physical violence at home, or intentionally inflicted deprivation.
  • Domestic Violence
  • Physical or verbal violence used in the home to control others, assert power and denigrate the others’ rights.
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Often children or young people in particular are sworn to silence by the abuser, with threats of what might happen (breaking up the family) if they tell.
  • Workplace Bullying
  • Using power to control others in a demeaning fashion, and deny them a voice, and their rights in the workplace.

Symptoms of Trauma

Trauma shows up in various ways, both mentally and physically. Common symptoms include:

  • Psychological: Anxiety, depression, flashbacks, nightmares, and emotional numbness.
  • Physical: Insomnia, fatigue, headaches, and increased susceptibility to illness.
  • Behavioural: Avoiding reminders of the trauma, withdrawing from social interactions, and substance abuse.

Impact on Daily Life

Trauma can seriously mess with our daily lives, affecting personal relationships, work, and overall quality of life. It often makes it hard to trust others, creates chronic fear, and keeps us in a constant state of alertness, making everyday activities feel daunting. 

The Path to Healing

Healing from trauma is a journey that involves understanding, support, and professional help. Here are some key steps to recovery:

  • Acknowledge the Trauma: Recognising its impact is the first step toward healing.
  • Seek Professional Help: Therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) are effective in treating trauma.
  • Build a Support System: Surround yourself with supportive and understanding people.
  • Practice Self-Care: Engage in activities that promote relaxation and well-being, like exercise, meditation, and hobbies.

Raising Awareness

By increasing awareness about trauma, we can create a more empathetic and supportive environment for those affected. It’s crucial to understand that trauma is a profound and complex issue, not a sign of weakness. Promoting open conversations about mental health and advocating for accessible resources can make a huge difference in the lives of trauma survivors.

If you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma, remember that healing ispossible. With the right support and resources, we can overcome the past and move toward a brighter, more hopeful future. Let’s work together to shed light on trauma and foster a community of understanding and healing. 

Seeking Professional Help?

Working with trauma is a delicate process. First, it is paramount that the person feels safe with the process. They must be able to feel they can trust the psychologist. The trauma survivor needs to know they will be given respect and have a voice in how, what, and when certain aspects of their experience is covered. Some traumatic memories may be too painful to return to, for a very long time, perhaps never. In the meantime, much ground can be made by re-establishing safety, trust, and a sense of being able to bring order and meaning back into one’s world – to feel empowered.

How Can Growth Psychology Consulting Help You?

At Growth Psychology Consulting, we have a range of psychologists who can help you manage trauma. For details on our helpful psychologists, see Our Team

Making an appointment is easy! Call us on 02 9600 6619 to find out more or book now online. 

When you call, a helpful person will answer your enquiry between 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. 

After-hours appointments are available on weeknights up to 8pm. 

Medicare rebates are available to those who are eligible. Rebates can be paid directly into your bank account when sessions are paid for using cash, cheque or EFTPOS.

Private Health funds - Check with your provider to see if you are eligible.

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