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About Trauma
Trauma can be described in many forms. Perhaps it would be useful to give the definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (4th edition), defines PTSD as the result of having been exposed to an extreme situation or episode that may involve direct personal experience, or witnessing an event that is outside of the realm of normal expectable daily experience. Examples may include a threat to one physically, emotionally, or sexually. Other circumstances could include witnessing events such as 9/11 the death of a loved one, or been a situation such as a hurricane where there was the perceived threat to oneself and well-being.
PTSD is a formal diagnosis, and includes symptoms of:
- Intrusive thoughts and recollections
- recurrent and distressing recollections of the traumatic event
- nightmares of the event
- flashbacks -an actual reliving of the traumatic event in the present great danger does not exist;
this event is an example of the part of memory that has been dissociated and has re-emerged spontaneously
- Avoidance behavior
- dealing with avoiding thinking about the incident
- avoiding places and activities that may remind one of the trauma
- psychological amnesia for part or all of the trauma
- diminished activities and participation in events that usually are pleasurable
- feelings of detachment and estrangement and meaning
- inhibition of allowing oneself to feel–sometimes going all the way to actually feeling numb
- believing that as a result of this event or situation that one will not have full life
Hyper arousal
- difficulty falling or staying asleep
- have bursts of anger
- agitation
- irritability
- problems with concentrating
- hyper vigilance -a state of constantly been on guard when there is no objective evidence that one needs to be exaggerated startle response
Trauma is not limited to a formal diagnosis of PTSD. Nor does everyone exposed to life-threatening situations develop full-blown PTSD or any symptoms of trauma. The meaning of an event, social support, and hardiness, are elements that may mitigate against developing any symptoms.
People exposed to traumatic events may develop a condition called Acute Stress Disorder.
The essential feature:
- anxiety
- dissociation
The symptoms usually resolve within four weeks time. After those four weeks the diagnosis may change to PTSD, or these symptoms may remain in a sub-acute phase where certain symptoms may be present from time to time, but do not meet criterion for a full-blown psychiatric syndrome.
This sub acute phase may contain elements of:
- intrusive
- avoidance
- hyper arousal symptoms
This sub-acute phase may last anywhere from the few days after the event to a lifetime.
Current day situations that may seem innocuous to some, or mildly annoying to others, may be very disconcerting to the person who has experienced a past unpleasant event of which this current stressor unconsciously reminded him/her of.
When experiences occur in a person’s life that they are able to process to adaptive completion, lessons are learned and stored away for further usage. What is no longer needed from these experiences are forgotten and released. The culmination of this neurological process is called “declarative memory”.
However, when a person encounters a situation whether it be relational or situational, natural disaster or terrorism, the process of coping adequately diminishes. A person’s ability to function in this world is hampered. When the pain cannot be “contained” or “tolerated”, dysfunctional thinking patterns ensue. If not caught immediately, the person may act in dysfunctional manners, such as overeating. Five pints of ice cream for breakfast worked “best” for me. Depending upon how long a stressor lingers, the dysfunctional behavior may continue; usually in awareness since members of one’s social environment acts as reminders.
In summation a) a trauma is any unpleasant/traumatic memory that does not get processed to an adequate conclusion, b) the dysfuctionally stored information becomes activated and re-enacted in the current life of a person intensifying their experience of living.
