What is trauma? How do you recognise trauma? Where can help be found? You can read more about this topic here.
What is trauma?
According to the World Health Organization, trauma (Greek for wound) in psychology is “a stressful experience or situation of exceptional threat or catastrophic magnitude (short- or long-term) that would cause deep distress in almost anyone”.
This event may have occurred once or repeatedly. You don’t have to have experienced it yourself; witnessing or hearing about a major threat from someone close to you can also traumatize you.
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Some characteristics of trauma:
- It is a negatively overwhelming experience in which one feels powerless and helpless.
- The situation is threatening; those affected feel massive fear during the experience (possibly even fear for survival).
- You feel overwhelmed, desperate and don’t know what to do – you never thought you would have to experience such a situation.
- The experience is very stressful and changes something in you.
- Affected people can also feel shocked and horrified that something like this has just happened.
- One has experienced the traumatizing situation oneself.
- Witnessed another person experiencing the situation, or a close person has
- A close person has experienced a trauma and you are told about it.
What types of traumatizing experiences are there?
“Nature-made” traumatization is natural disasters such as earthquakes or tidal waves. Affected people witness terrible situations that threaten their existence. They may even have to flee their city, leaving most of their possessions behind. They may also witness the death of acquaintances or relatives.
“Man-made” traumas are more diverse and sometimes more difficult to deal with. For example, because people do terrible things to other people. Examples of trauma caused by people are experiences in war, serious accidents, serious bodily injury, sexual abuse or torture.
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Traumatic events can happen to anyone. Trauma is unpredictable and it is caused by external violence (psychological and/or physical) (by other people or nature).
Life “afterwards”
Being confronted with such threatening situations – through one’s own experience, witnessing or describing them – can trigger many different feelings. Those affected may be sad, angry, shocked or even frozen. Everyone reacts differently. Some people withdraw and just want to be alone. Others find it very difficult to be with themselves and look for company and something to do to distract themselves.
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No matter what type of person you are, it takes time to come to terms with a traumatic experience.
Signs of trauma sequel
Nightmares and recurring memories: In the period after a traumatic experience, sleep problems may occur. Some people dream about the event or have trouble falling asleep or wake up frequently during the night. Even during the day, memories or images of the event, so-called flash backs, may keep coming up.
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You can discuss with a trusted adult (e.g. parents, relatives or teachers) what support you need when the memories come back. Perhaps you would like to be distracted or be held? Or talk about it?
Change in mood: The mood is usually changed. For example, those affected are depressed and take little pleasure in things that gave them pleasure before the event, or they are irritable, angry and grumpy.
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It is okay to behave differently than before! You don’t have to “function” the same way as before the experience. Nevertheless, it is important and good for you to gradually try things again that used to give you pleasure (for example, meeting friends, going out, etc.) and see if they still make you feel good. An emotional outlet to relieve tension can be sport, for example.
Avoidance and repression: Affected people often try to avoid everything that is connected to the traumatic experience or to erase the stressful event from their memory as best they can, i.e. to repress it.
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Avoiding reminiscent situations and attempting to repress the experience are useful protective mechanisms in the beginning in order to be able to stabilize oneself again.
Permanent alertness: It happens that after experiencing a trauma, one is highly cautious and flinches at every noise. This alertness of the body is a normal reaction. You want to protect yourself and not experience a threatening situation again. Nevertheless, this “permanent readiness” costs a lot of energy.
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You can recharge your energy reserves, for example, with relaxation or by doing something good for yourself, such as going for a walk, walking the dog, taking time for yourself etc.
Be mindful of yourself
Experiencing trauma usually means that someone else has violently gone beyond one’s limits. Especially after such experiences, it is important to pay attention to yourself, to feel what you need or want and to act accordingly. It is okay not to feel like going to the cinema with friends, but to play computer games or sleep at home.
(In) security
A traumatic event triggers fear in those affected. It takes time to feel more secure again. Affected people can create external security for themselves. For example, having already dialed the number of a familiar person on the way home and only having to dial if they feel unwell. If you have problems falling asleep, a light source in the room that is not disturbing can have a calming effect.
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Individual external “safeguarding” options can also be considered together with us at any time.
Dealing with the trauma
Talking about traumatic experiences with trusted adults can be relieving. It is very important to take good care of oneself and not to overexert oneself. In order to deal with the experience, it is almost always useful to get support from experts (e.g. psychologists or psychotherapists). This is not a sign of weakness. Traumatic experiences are very intense situations and experts know what it takes to deal with them.
There are many different situations that can put a strain on you. If these become more and more, a tangible “mountain” of burdens arises. The bigger this mountain is, the more likely you are to feel that you can no longer cope with it, that you are overburdened or that you can no longer see a solution. This is a very energy-sapping situation. Take care of yourself and make sure that this mountain is always reduced.
Get support before you get in over your head. There are many places you can turn to free of charge and completely anonymously, so you don’t have to give your name and of course you don’t have to say where you come from. Sometimes it helps if you can talk to them and get rid of everything that is bothering you.
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Can “just talking” help?
Why can talking change anything at all? There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, it can be relieving to get rid of everything that is bothering you and to talk about it. Another aspect is that you put into words what is stressful for you. In this way, some contents can be structured and possibly become a little more unraveled. Thinking about it and talking about it can also lead to a different view of one’s own situation.
Remember what has helped before?
Maybe you have experienced a situation in the past that was very stressful for you. You could think about what supported you at that time, was there a teacher you could confide in or did it help you to write down stressful things and tear the paper into small pieces? Sport as an outlet? In any case, it might be worthwhile to try out today what you experienced as helpful back then – maybe this time it will at least bring some relief. You could also ask people close to you what helps them when they are not feeling well.
How does it feel?
Of course, everyone affected is an expert on how they feel. From conversations with callers, we know that in connection with suicidal thoughts, people often feel too powerless to reach a way out. Or there seems to be no way out at all, or you feel little pleasure in things you used to enjoy. Sleeping and eating habits can also change, e.g. you no longer feel any appetite or eat more than before. This also has an effect on your thoughts. The less you eat or sleep, for example, the less you can analyses a situation and look for solutions, because this takes up a lot of energy that you simply don’t have.
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Be sure to get help if…
- … you have the feeling that you are in over your head.
- … you have experienced something stressful that won’t let go of you.
- … you notice that you feel aggression directed against you or you have the feeling that you want/have to punish yourself for something.
- … you find it difficult over a longer period of time to get yourself up for everyday tasks (going to school or work, doing homework, taking a shower, etc.).
- … you have the feeling that nothing pleases you any more.
- … you notice that you are withdrawing more and more (for example, you no longer meet friends, you no longer like to write to them, etc.).
- … you find it more and more difficult to fall asleep or you often wake up in the night.
- … your eating habits have changed (you eat less or more than before)…. you notice that you keep thinking about what it would be like not to live anymore.
- … you start to think about ways you could commit suicide.
Give life a chance
Think about what possibilities there might be to make improvements. For example: “Have I already talked to people I trust or to experts, how do others see the situation, what possibilities do they see, what has helped me in other situations, …?
We would like to encourage you to give the idea that there are ways out a chance, at least for a moment.
There are psychotherapists who have specialized in trauma in addition to their psychotherapy training. In psychotherapy, it is not necessary to talk about the traumatic experience immediately. A very important theme in the therapeutic work is to become stable again and to feel better.
For further help and support — Speak with a licensed therapist today.