Trauma: What it is and How to Address it Effectively

The world that we live in is, sadly, not a perfect one. That means that we will often encounter trauma and other things in it that are distressing. That, coupled with the fact that we may not have the emotional and mental resources to cope with these distressing occurrences, means that we can end up having emotional responses that can undermine our well-being.

Trauma, as the American Psychological Association defines it, is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.” These traumatic events can be sudden, take place over time, be repeated, or occur just once, and they may even be experienced vicariously by hearing reports of what occurred.

A distressing event doesn’t necessarily lead to trauma, as people can experience difficult, harmful, terrifying, or life-threatening events without necessarily developing trauma. When most people go through such events, they may experience temporary difficulty adjusting and coping.

However, with time and self-care, they adjust and can cope with daily life. The difficulty comes when the symptoms of trauma last and interfere with daily functioning.

Different types of trauma

The trauma that a person can experience can either be emotional or physical. The physical type is when one experiences serious bodily injury, and this includes anything from being physically assaulted, to being involved in a traffic accident, to having an accident and losing a digit in a woodworking shop, to childbirth.

In addition to physical, there’s emotional trauma, which is the emotional response to a life-threatening or dangerous situation. This type can occur during and immediately after the situation occurs. Contrasted with acute emotional trauma is chronic emotional trauma, which is when a person experiences repeated or prolonged distressing events, such as physical and sexual abuse, bullying, or violence in one’s community.

Some experiences that may also lead to trauma include, but are not limited to, the following instances of distressing, harmful, or life-threatening situations:

• Combat, or being caught in a war zone.
• Experiencing terrorism.
• A natural disaster such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane.
• A traffic accident.
• Child abuse.
• Bullying.
• Child abandonment and neglect.
• Harassment.
• Physical abuse, which may include domestic violence or intimate partner violence.
• Being attacked.
• Violence in one’s
• Intergenerational trauma.
• Undergoing surgery.
• Going through a life-threatening illness.
• Sexual abuse.
• Being trafficked.
• Being kidnapped.
• Sudden loss of a loved one.
• Verbal abuse such as being humiliated or having racial or sexual slurs aimed at you.
• Being a refugee or displaced from your home.

How to address it effectively

Trauma can affect you in various ways, including making you feel helpless, unsafe, guilty, ashamed, and emotionally numb. It can also affect you physically by making you feel on edge, making it harder for you to fall or stay asleep, body aches and pains, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and affecting your appetite as well. You may find yourself withdrawing from people and feeling angry.

As a result, you may struggle to go about your daily routines. You may find yourself avoiding the place or situation in which the traumatic event occurred, like skipping school because you were bullied at school, or not wanting to get behind the wheel of a car after a traffic accident. It’s important to address it effectively to allow yourself to learn how to live life after a traumatic event.

Several treatments are available and can help a person to cope with their symptoms and experiences. If you find that a traumatic experience is affecting your daily life, speak with a mental health professional such as a psychologist, therapist, or psychiatrist.

The first port of call for treating trauma is talk therapy, which is also often known as psychotherapy. Working with a trauma-informed or trauma-focused therapist, they will make use of therapeutic techniques such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps to identify and replace unhealthy behaviors, thoughts, and emotions with healthy ones.

Other therapies that can be used to treat trauma include eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a method that exposes the client, in small and controlled ways, to elements that are related to the traumatic experience to help them overcome the trauma by reprocessing the memories related to the trauma.

Other ways to address its effects include medications that reduce and manage symptoms of anxiety, sleep issues, or depression, which typically accompany trauma. Medication in combination with therapy as well as acts of basic self-care such as connecting with loved ones, eating well, trying to get good sleep, and regularly exercising can all help one to cope better with trauma.

Talking with someone about what you’ve gone through makes a difference. If you’ve been through a traumatic event and would like to speak with a mental health professional to improve your quality of life and cope well with what’s happened, contact us today at Orange County Christian Counseling in California to set up a risk-free appointment.