Trauma refers to the emotional wound resulting from a threatening event to a person’s sense of safety and well-being. Trauma results from abuse, injury, accident, disaster, or a serious illness. People can also experience trauma because of witnessing or hearing somebody else’s traumatic experience. This is called vicarious trauma.

For some, the impact of trauma is mild or shorter in duration, but for others, the impact is stronger, lasts longer and affects other areas of life in negative ways. Often trauma affects a person’s relationships, study, work, quality of life and identity. How a person responds to trauma depends on many factors including how the trauma was processed and the level of support the person had at the time, as well as personal history.

Most people who experience traumatic events usually experience some temporary adjustment and coping difficulties. Often, people experience strong anxiety, numbness or fear, uncontrollable thoughts of the event and flashbacks. People can experience sleep difficulties, a physical state of high stress and avoidance of usual daily activities. With good self-care, support and healthy processing of the trauma, people usually improve and feel better.

When trauma symptoms extend beyond a month the person is likely to be experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People experiencing PTSD often experience intense distress, anxiety, or irritability, problems with memory or concentration, and feel vague, detached or more impulsive than usual. They usually experience nightmares, intrusive flashbacks or memories and avoidance of important aspects of life. Trauma can also negatively affect how a person see themselves, others, and the world around them, and can affect their ability to feel joy and function in relationships and everyday activities.

Complex trauma occurs when a person experiences several traumas that affect their feeling of safety or core stability. As a result of these experiences, a person may experience longer-term difficulties with regulating their emotions, feeling detached from themselves or the world, feeling different, shame, poor self-confidence, impulsivity, and issues with trust. 

For those who engage in evidence-based treatments for trauma, most people can learn to re-establish a sense of safety and control over their lives, process memories at their own pace, learn skills to manage distress and recover from the impact of trauma.