What you need to know about
Trauma
When
people are faced with traumatic experiences, they can sometimes experience
severe emotional issues and others have lasting psychological damage because of
being traumatized resulting in emotional disorders. Many people who are traumatized
as a child will become adults with emotional disorders.
While
trauma does cause emotional disturbances, some adults and children have better
resilience and overcome the trauma in a shorter amount of time and those
individuals normally do not having lasting psychological damage. Another way to
prevent lasting damage is to intervene quickly when someone is struggling to
cope with the traumatic experience.
According
to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is an emotional response to a horrible event which causes
extreme stress. Events that cause trauma in people varies from person to person
and examples include but are not limited to rape/assault or being the victim of
a crime, war, natural disaster, death of a loved one, and abuse/neglect. These
are just a few of the terrible events that can occur and have been known to
cause trauma in different people.
Emotional and Physical
responses to Trauma are normal
People
need to understand the difference between normal responses to trauma and the
signs and symptoms of someone who is struggling to cope with trauma. Knowing when
someone is struggling could benefit that person by knowing they need extra
help. On the other hand, if that person is displaying normal responses to trauma
it would help people not attract unnecessary attention and fuss over that
person which could cause undue stress to that person.
It
is completely normal for people to experience emotional disturbances and
physical symptoms immediately after a trauma experience. Symptoms and disturbances
from trauma can last from a few days to a couple of months. The symptoms and
disturbances can start extremely strong and debilitating, but should fade over
time as the person processes and copes with the trauma.
Normal
Symptoms of Trauma:
Physical
Symptoms Emotional and Psychological Symptoms
Insomnia
or nightmares Shock, denial, or disbelief
Being
startled easily Anger, irritability, mood swings
Racing
heartbeat Guilt, shame, self-blame
Aches
and pains Feeling sad or hopeless
Fatigue Confusion, difficulty concentrating
Difficulty
concentrating Anxiety and fear
Edginess
and agitation Withdrawing from others
Muscle
tension Feeling disconnected or numb
If
someone is displaying these symptoms for an extended time frame or for a
lasting intensity that doesn’t seem to be improving from day to day, then they
are most likely struggling with their trauma. Also people who drastically
experience one symptom over any other and it too is lasting, they too are
struggling with their trauma. People who struggle with trauma truly need some
extra attention and care for them to overcome the trauma.
There
are also more obvious signs of someone who is struggling to cope with their
trauma. These signs are more easily seen and most don’t need to be told to you
by the person experiencing trauma. These signs are big red flags and those
people should seek professional help to cope with their trauma and the issues
they are dealing with.
Signs of someone struggling
with their trauma:
Having
trouble functioning at home, work, or school
Avoiding
things, people, or places
Withdrawing
from friends and/or other social situations
Using
alcohol or drugs
If
they are experiencing nightmares or flashback and terrifying memories
Someone
who is suffering from severe emotional responses to their trauma can develop
emotional disorders if they do not seek treatment and/or therapy. These severe
emotional responses are typically fear and anxiety or depression. In some more
severe cases, people can experience all three simultaneously.
If
you see or know someone who is struggling with trauma, please reach out to
them. Someone may just need someone to talk to and other may need the
encouragement to seek professional help.
What you can do to support
someone dealing with a Traumatic experience:
One
of the biggest things you can do for someone with dealing with trauma is to let
them express themselves. Most people will feel better after they talk about
what is on their mind and how they feel. When trying to help someone open up
and talk it is best not to ask that person, who is in extreme emotional pain, “what’s
wrong with you?”. This is a big No, No!
It
is much less insulting and less painful to ask the question differently. It’s
better to ask “what has happened to you?” than to ask “What’s wrong or What’s
wrong with you?”. If you are truly
trying to help that person open up and talk about what is causing them so much
pain and turmoil, then you need to find a way to approach the topic without shutting
down the conversation.
I
know that after my mom died, I struggled with being able to talk about how I
was feeling and the thoughts that were going through my mind. Even though it
was hard, the more people who cared helped me to talk about it, the more I
started to feel better and stop thinking about it the way I was. The people who
helped me the most ask brief open ended questions and then let me talk while
they actively listened. With my loved one’s help and a grief counselor I have
been able to pull myself out of depression and stop the cycle of thoughts that
were only bringing me down.
When
trying to help someone open up it’s important to ask open ended questions. Once
you get that traumatized person talking, let them talk! Make sure to actively
listen to them. Try your best to show them you understand where they are coming
from without saying “I know how you feel” as this is also a Big NO, NO! Even if
you are sharing in the loss of a loved one, you don’t know exactly how someone
else feels. People hold different roles and had different life experiences with
that lost loved one and because of this no one experiences death the same.
If
the person who has been traumatized is a child, then talking about the
experience may not be that helpful. Little ones can still be encouraged to
express themselves and should be in order to help them process and overcome the
trauma. Children can express themselves in a variety of ways. Be creative and
join them in their activities of expression because this will help the bond you
share as well as give the child a sense of security while exploring tough
feelings.
Ways children can be
encouraged to express themselves:
Drawing/Coloring
Singing
Puppets
Role-playing/Make
believe
Dolls
Sculpture/Clay
Writing
activities
Reading
books about the topic
Making
a scrapbook or other craft project
What
I hope you remember:
Comparing
your pain and trauma to another’s extremely unhealthy and unjust. What causes
extreme distress to one person may not be as distressing to someone else.
Everyone is different and therefore they experience trauma differently. Having
compassion and loving without judging is the best practice.
Keep
an open mind while having concern!
Reach
out to those in need!
Resources for those needing
help:
http://www.dougy.org/
(children’s resource)
Thank you!
Thank you for reading and please leave me a comment I
would love to know what you think.
Has
this post helped you?
Do
you have more to add?
Could
you think of more ways to encourage children to express themselves?
