What is Trauma? Understanding Emotional and Psychological Impact

Emotional and psychological trauma can be described as the profound aftermath of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter an individual’s sense of security and well-being. It leaves a person feeling helpless and vulnerable in what may now seem like a dangerous and unpredictable world. Psychological trauma is not merely a fleeting emotional response; it can manifest as persistent upsetting emotions, intrusive memories, and relentless anxiety that seem impossible to shake off. Furthermore, trauma can lead to feelings of numbness, emotional disconnection, and a deep-seated inability to trust others.

While traumatic experiences are often associated with life-threatening situations or threats to physical safety, it’s crucial to understand that any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and profoundly isolated can result in trauma. This holds true even if there is no direct physical harm involved. The determination of whether an event is traumatic is not based on objective circumstances alone, but rather on your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more intensely frightened and utterly helpless you feel during an event, the higher the likelihood of experiencing psychological traumatization. Therefore, understanding What Is Trauma requires acknowledging the deeply personal and subjective nature of these experiences.

Emotional and psychological trauma can stem from a variety of sources, including:

One-time incidents: These can include accidents, serious injuries, or violent attacks. The impact is often more severe if the event was entirely unexpected or occurred during childhood, a particularly vulnerable period of development.
Ongoing, relentless stress: Living in environments characterized by chronic stress, such as crime-ridden neighborhoods, or battling a life-threatening illness can be deeply traumatic. Similarly, repeated traumatic events, such as persistent bullying, domestic violence, or childhood neglect, inflict cumulative emotional damage.
Commonly overlooked causes: Certain events, while not always immediately recognized as traumatic, can have a significant psychological impact. These include surgical procedures (especially during the first three years of life), the sudden and unexpected death of a close person, the painful breakup of a significant relationship, or experiences of humiliation or profound disappointment, particularly if inflicted intentionally or cruelly by another person.

Coping with the trauma resulting from natural disasters or man-made catastrophes presents unique challenges. Even if you are not directly involved, the widespread impact and pervasive sense of insecurity can be deeply unsettling. In today’s interconnected world, it’s virtually impossible to completely shield oneself from the constant stream of distressing images and news reports detailing tragic events. Exposure to these horrific images, especially through social media and news sources, can overwhelm the nervous system and trigger what is known as traumatic stress. This indirect exposure highlights the far-reaching impact of trauma in the modern age.

Regardless of the specific cause of your trauma, and whether the event occurred recently or many years ago, it is essential to know that healing and recovery are possible. You can make positive changes, process your experiences, and ultimately move forward with your life.

Childhood Trauma and the Risk of Future Trauma

While traumatic events can affect anyone at any point in life, certain factors can increase an individual’s vulnerability. You are more susceptible to being traumatized by an event if you are already experiencing a high level of stress, have recently endured multiple losses, or have a history of prior trauma, especially if those earlier traumas occurred during childhood. Childhood trauma, in particular, can have profound and lasting effects because it occurs during critical stages of development. A wide range of experiences can disrupt a child’s fundamental sense of safety and security, leading to childhood trauma. These include:

An unstable or fundamentally unsafe home environment.
The painful experience of separation from a parent or primary caregiver.
Facing a serious illness during formative years.
Undergoing intrusive or frightening medical procedures.
Sexual, physical, or verbal abuse.
Exposure to domestic violence within the home.
Experiencing neglect of basic needs, whether emotional or physical.

When childhood trauma remains unresolved, its impact can extend far into adulthood. The sense of fear and helplessness ingrained during childhood can become a persistent lens through which the world is viewed, setting the stage for potential re-traumatization in later life. However, it is crucial to emphasize that even if your trauma occurred many years in the past, healing is still within reach. There are effective steps you can take to confront and overcome the pain, learn to rebuild trust and connection with others, and ultimately regain your sense of emotional balance and well-being.

Symptoms of Psychological Trauma

It is important to recognize that responses to trauma are highly individual. People react in diverse ways, experiencing a wide spectrum of emotional, psychological, and physical reactions. There is no “correct” or “incorrect” way to think, feel, or behave after a traumatic event. Therefore, it is vital to avoid judging your own reactions or those of others. Your responses are NORMAL reactions to ABNORMAL events. Understanding this fundamental principle can be incredibly validating and empowering in the initial stages of processing trauma.

Emotional and Psychological Symptoms:

Shock, denial, or disbelief: An initial state of disbelief or numbness as the mind struggles to process the overwhelming event.
Confusion and difficulty concentrating: Trauma can disrupt cognitive functions, making it hard to focus or think clearly.
Anger, irritability, and mood swings: Emotional dysregulation is common, leading to heightened reactivity and unpredictable shifts in mood.
Anxiety and fear: A pervasive sense of unease, worry, and heightened fear responses.
Guilt, shame, and self-blame: Internalizing blame or feeling responsible for events that were beyond one’s control.
Social withdrawal: Pulling away from social interactions and relationships as a coping mechanism.
Feelings of sadness or hopelessness: Experiencing depressive symptoms and a pessimistic outlook on the future.
Emotional disconnection or numbness: Feeling detached from emotions and the world around you, a sense of emotional flatness.

Physical Symptoms:

Insomnia or nightmares: Sleep disturbances, including difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing distressing dreams related to the trauma.
Fatigue and exhaustion: Persistent tiredness and lack of energy, even with adequate rest.
Being easily startled: An exaggerated startle response, feeling jumpy and hypervigilant.
Difficulty concentrating: Cognitive impairment affecting focus and attention, impacting daily tasks.
Racing heartbeat or palpitations: Physical manifestations of anxiety and hyperarousal.
Edginess and agitation: Restlessness, feeling on edge, and an inability to relax.
Unexplained aches and pains: Physical discomfort, such as headaches, stomachaches, or muscle soreness, without a clear physical cause.
Muscle tension: Chronic muscle tightness, often in the neck, shoulders, and back, reflecting underlying stress and anxiety.

Healing from Trauma

For many individuals, the immediate symptoms of trauma are temporary. Trauma symptoms typically last from a few days to several months, gradually lessening in intensity as the individual processes the unsettling event and begins to integrate the experience. Even as you start to feel better, it’s normal to experience periodic recurrences of painful memories or intense emotions. These can be triggered by specific reminders, such as the anniversary of the event or anything that subconsciously links back to the trauma. These “trigger” events are a normal part of the healing process and do not signify a setback.

However, if your psychological trauma symptoms don’t improve over time, or if they progressively worsen and you find yourself unable to move forward in your life for an extended period, it may indicate the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While emotional trauma is a natural and expected response to a profoundly disturbing event, it transitions into PTSD when the nervous system becomes “stuck” in a state of hyperarousal. In PTSD, the individual remains in a state of psychological shock, unable to fully make sense of what happened or effectively process the intense emotions associated with the trauma.

Regardless of whether the traumatic event involved a direct threat of death, survivors invariably grapple with a significant loss – at least a temporary loss of their fundamental sense of safety and security in the world. The natural emotional response to this loss is grief. Similar to individuals who have experienced the death of a loved one, trauma survivors need to navigate a grieving process. The following trauma recovery tips are designed to help you cope with this sense of grief, facilitate healing from the trauma, and ultimately empower you to move forward with your life in a meaningful way.

Speak to a Licensed Therapist

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Trauma Recovery Tip 1: Get Moving

Trauma profoundly disrupts the body’s natural equilibrium, often leaving you in a state of hyperarousal and persistent fear. Engaging in exercise and movement is not just about physical health; it plays a crucial role in the trauma recovery process. Physical activity helps burn off excess adrenaline and release endorphins, the body’s natural mood boosters. More fundamentally, exercise and rhythmic movement can aid in actually repairing and recalibrating your nervous system, which is often significantly impacted by trauma.

Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days. If finding a continuous 30-minute block is challenging, breaking it down into three 10-minute bursts of exercise throughout the day can be equally effective. Consistency is key to reaping the benefits.

Prioritize exercise that is rhythmic and engages both your arms and legs. Activities like walking, running, swimming, playing basketball, or even dancing are particularly beneficial. These types of movements promote bilateral stimulation, which can be therapeutic for trauma processing.

Integrate a mindfulness element into your exercise routine. Instead of using exercise as a time to get lost in your thoughts or distract yourself from difficult emotions, consciously focus on your body and the physical sensations you are experiencing as you move. Pay attention to the feeling of your feet striking the ground while walking, the rhythm of your breath, or the sensation of the air on your skin. Certain activities naturally lend themselves to this mindful approach. Rock climbing, boxing, weight training, and martial arts often require a high degree of focus on body movements to prevent injury, making them excellent choices for incorporating mindfulness into exercise.

Tip 2: Don’t Isolate

Following a traumatic experience, a natural inclination may be to withdraw from social interaction and isolate yourself. However, while understandable, isolation tends to exacerbate the negative effects of trauma and hinders the healing process. Actively connecting with others face-to-face is a vital component of trauma recovery. Make a conscious effort to maintain your existing relationships and resist the urge to spend excessive amounts of time alone.

You don’t necessarily have to talk about the trauma itself. Connecting with others for healing doesn’t mandate recounting the traumatic experience in detail. In fact, for some individuals, repeatedly verbalizing the trauma can be counterproductive or even re-traumatizing. The comfort and healing power of social connection arise from the simple act of feeling engaged with and accepted by others.

Don’t hesitate to ask for support when you need it. While you may not want to delve into the specifics of the trauma, it is essential to have at least one person with whom you can openly share your feelings face-to-face. Seek out someone who will listen attentively without judgment, offering a safe space for you to express yourself. This could be a trusted family member, a close friend, a counselor, or a spiritual advisor.

Actively participate in social activities, even when you don’t feel like it. Make an effort to engage in “normal” activities with other people – activities that are unrelated to the traumatic experience. This helps to re-establish a sense of normalcy and routine in your life.

Reconnect with old friends. If you have unintentionally retreated from relationships that were once important to you, make a deliberate effort to reach out and reconnect. Rebuilding these connections can provide valuable support and a sense of belonging.

Consider joining a support group specifically for trauma survivors. Connecting with others who have had similar experiences can significantly reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. Hearing how others are coping with their trauma can also offer inspiration, practical strategies, and a sense of shared understanding on your own recovery journey.

Explore volunteering opportunities. In addition to benefiting others, volunteering can be a powerful way to counteract the sense of helplessness that often accompanies trauma. By focusing on helping others, you can remind yourself of your strengths, reclaim a sense of agency, and rediscover your inner resilience.

If you are feeling isolated, take proactive steps to make new friends. If you live alone or are geographically distant from family and existing friends, it’s important to reach out and cultivate new social connections. Consider taking a class, joining a club or group centered around your interests, connecting with an alumni association, or simply reaching out to neighbors or work colleagues.

If connecting to others feels difficult…

It’s common for individuals who have experienced trauma to feel emotionally disconnected, withdrawn, and to find social interaction challenging. If this resonates with you, there are simple techniques you can try before meeting with a friend to ease social engagement:

Engage in physical exercise or movement. Before meeting someone, try a brief burst of physical activity. Jump up and down, swing your arms and legs, or simply move your body freely. This can help clear your head, release tension, and make it easier to connect with others.

Practice vocal toning. While it might seem unusual, vocal toning can be surprisingly effective in opening you up to social engagement. Sit upright and make a gentle “mmmm” sound. Experiment with different pitches and volumes until you feel a pleasant vibration in your face. This technique can help to release physical tension and promote a sense of openness and connection.

Tip 3: Self-Regulate Your Nervous System

No matter how agitated, anxious, or overwhelmed you may feel in the aftermath of trauma, it is crucial to remember that you have the capacity to influence your nervous system and cultivate a sense of calm within yourself. Learning self-regulation techniques is not only helpful in alleviating trauma-related anxiety but also empowers you with a greater sense of control over your emotional state.

Practice mindful breathing. If you find yourself feeling disoriented, confused, or intensely upset, mindful breathing is a readily accessible and effective technique to quickly calm yourself. A simple yet powerful exercise is to take 60 focused breaths, consciously directing your attention to each exhale. Lengthening the exhale can be particularly helpful in activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation.

Utilize sensory input for soothing. Identify specific sights, smells, or tastes that reliably evoke feelings of calm and comfort for you. Perhaps the scent of lavender, the taste of chamomile tea, or the sight of nature scenes has a calming effect. Experiment with different quick stress relief techniques that engage your senses to discover what works best for you. Petting a beloved animal or listening to calming music are also examples of sensory-based self-soothing strategies.

Practice grounding techniques to feel present. When you feel disconnected from the present moment or overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts, grounding techniques can help bring you back to your body and the here-and-now. A simple grounding exercise involves sitting in a chair and consciously feeling your feet on the ground and your back supported by the chair. Then, look around your environment and intentionally identify six objects that contain the colors red or blue. As you engage your senses in this way, notice how your breathing naturally becomes deeper and calmer.

Allow yourself to feel your emotions as they arise. Resist the urge to suppress or avoid your feelings related to the trauma. Acknowledge your emotions as they emerge and practice accepting them without judgment. HelpGuide’s comprehensive Emotional Intelligence Toolkit offers valuable resources and strategies for developing emotional awareness and healthy emotional processing skills.

Tip 4: Take Care of Your Health

It is a well-established principle that maintaining a healthy body significantly enhances your capacity to cope with the profound stress associated with trauma. Prioritizing your physical health is not a luxury but a fundamental aspect of trauma recovery.

Prioritize getting sufficient sleep. Following a traumatic experience, worry, hyperarousal, and fear can significantly disrupt your sleep patterns. However, inadequate quality sleep can worsen trauma symptoms, intensify emotional distress, and make it considerably more challenging to maintain emotional balance. Establish a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up around the same time each day, even on weekends. Aim for a target of 7 to 9 hours of restful sleep each night to support your physical and emotional healing.

Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs. Substance use, while sometimes tempting as a temporary escape from difficult feelings, can ultimately worsen trauma symptoms in the long run. Alcohol and drugs can intensify feelings of depression, anxiety, and social isolation, and interfere with the natural healing processes of the brain and body.

Consume a well-balanced diet. Nutritious food provides the essential building blocks for physical and mental health. Eating small, well-balanced meals throughout the day helps to stabilize your energy levels and minimize mood swings. Limit your intake of sugary and overly processed fried foods, which can contribute to energy crashes and mood instability. Incorporate plenty of omega-3 fatty acids into your diet, found in foods like salmon, walnuts, soybeans, and flaxseeds, as these healthy fats have been shown to have mood-boosting effects.

Actively reduce stress through relaxation techniques. Incorporate stress-reducing practices into your daily routine. Explore relaxation techniques such as mindfulness meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises. Schedule dedicated time for activities that genuinely bring you joy and a sense of peace, such as pursuing your favorite hobbies, spending time in nature, or engaging in creative pursuits.

When to Seek Professional Treatment for Trauma

Recovering from trauma is a deeply personal journey that unfolds over time, and everyone heals at their own unique pace. There is no set timeline for recovery. However, if several months have passed and your trauma symptoms show no signs of lessening, or if they are intensifying, seeking professional help from a qualified trauma expert is strongly recommended.

Consider seeking professional support for trauma if you are experiencing any of the following:

Significant difficulty functioning in daily life at home, work, or in your relationships.
Persistent and severe fear, anxiety, or depression that is impacting your quality of life.
Inability to form or maintain close, satisfying relationships due to trauma-related challenges.
Recurring and distressing experiences of terrifying memories, nightmares, or flashbacks related to the traumatic event.
Progressively avoiding more and more situations or activities that remind you of the trauma, leading to increasing isolation and restriction in your life.
Feeling emotionally numb and disconnected from others and the world around you.
Turning to alcohol or drugs as a way to cope with your emotional pain and distress.

The process of working through trauma can be emotionally challenging, potentially painful, and even re-traumatizing if not approached with sensitivity and expertise. Therefore, this healing work is best undertaken with the guidance and support of an experienced trauma specialist. Finding the right therapist who is a good fit for your needs may take some time and effort. It is critically important to ensure that the therapist you choose has specific experience and training in treating trauma. However, the quality of the therapeutic relationship – the connection and trust you feel with your therapist – is equally vital to successful trauma therapy. Choose a trauma specialist with whom you feel genuinely comfortable, safe, and understood. If you do not feel safe, respected, or understood by a therapist, it is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged to seek out another therapist who is a better match for you.

When considering a therapist, ask yourself these important questions:

Did you feel comfortable openly discussing your problems and experiences with the therapist?
Did you sense that the therapist genuinely understood what you were communicating?
Were your concerns and experiences taken seriously and validated, or were they minimized or dismissed?
Did you feel treated with compassion, empathy, and respect by the therapist?
Do you believe that you could develop a trusting and collaborative relationship with this therapist over time?

Trauma Therapy

The overarching goal of trauma therapy is to facilitate healing from psychological and emotional trauma. This involves several key processes: resolving the distressing feelings and memories that have been avoided or suppressed, safely discharging pent-up “fight-or-flight” energy that remains trapped in the body, learning effective strategies to regulate intense emotions, and gradually rebuilding your capacity to trust others and form healthy relationships. A trauma specialist may utilize a variety of different therapeutic approaches and techniques tailored to your specific needs and the nature of your trauma.

Somatic Experiencing is a body-centered therapy approach that focuses on bodily sensations rather than solely on thoughts and memories related to the traumatic event. By directing attention to and working with what is happening in your body in the present moment, you can facilitate the release of pent-up trauma-related energy. This release may manifest through natural physiological processes such as shaking, trembling, crying, or other forms of physical expression.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a widely used and evidence-based therapy that helps you to process and critically evaluate your thoughts and feelings about a traumatic experience. CBT techniques help you identify and challenge negative or unhelpful thought patterns, develop healthier coping mechanisms, and gradually reduce trauma-related distress.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an integrative psychotherapy approach that combines elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy with bilateral stimulation, typically in the form of guided eye movements or other rhythmic left-right stimulation. EMDR is designed to help “unfreeze” traumatic memories that may be stuck in the nervous system, allowing for adaptive processing and integration of these experiences.

Helping a Loved One Deal with Trauma

When someone you care about has experienced trauma, your support can be instrumental in their recovery journey. Providing consistent and compassionate support can make a significant positive difference.

Practice patience and understanding. Healing from trauma is not a linear process and takes time. Be patient with the pace of your loved one’s recovery and remember that each individual’s response to trauma is unique. Avoid comparing your loved one’s reactions to your own responses or to anyone else’s. Validate their feelings and experiences without judgment.

Offer practical support to help your loved one re-establish a normal routine. Trauma can disrupt daily life, making even simple tasks feel overwhelming. Offer concrete assistance to help your loved one regain a sense of normalcy. This might involve helping with grocery shopping, assisting with household chores, or simply being available to talk, listen, or provide companionship.

Avoid pressuring your loved one to talk about the trauma, but be readily available if they do want to talk. Some trauma survivors find it extremely difficult to verbalize what happened, especially in the early stages of recovery. Respect their boundaries and avoid forcing them to open up before they are ready. However, make it clear that you are there to listen without judgment if and when they feel comfortable sharing, or simply to spend time together in comfortable silence if they prefer.

Encourage your loved one to socialize and engage in relaxing activities. Social connection and pleasurable activities are essential for healing. Gently encourage your loved one to participate in physical exercise, spend time with supportive friends, and pursue hobbies or other activities that bring them joy and a sense of normalcy. Suggest taking a fitness class together, scheduling regular lunches with friends, or engaging in shared hobbies.

Do not take trauma symptoms personally. It is important to remember that trauma can manifest in various ways, and your loved one’s behavior may be a direct result of their traumatic experience, not a reflection of your relationship. Your loved one may become more easily angered, irritable, withdrawn, emotionally distant, or experience mood swings. Recognize that these are potential symptoms of trauma and are not necessarily directed at you or indicative of problems in your relationship.

To effectively help a child recover from trauma, open and honest communication is paramount. Let children know that it is normal and understandable to feel scared, confused, or upset after a traumatic event. Children often look to adults for cues on how they should respond to trauma, so it is important to model healthy coping mechanisms and demonstrate positive ways of dealing with difficult emotions.

How Children React to Emotional and Psychological Trauma

Children’s reactions to trauma can vary depending on their age, developmental stage, and the nature of the traumatic event. Some common reactions and ways to help your child deal with them include:

Regression. Many children experiencing trauma may regress to earlier behaviors as a way of seeking comfort and security. Younger children might start wetting the bed again or wanting a bottle, while older children may develop fears of being alone or exhibit clingy behavior. Respond with understanding, patience, and reassurance. Provide extra comfort and security during this time.
Thinking the event is their fault. Children younger than approximately 8 years old often have difficulty understanding cause and effect and may mistakenly believe that they are responsible when something negative happens. Reassure your child that they did not cause the event and that it was not their fault. Clearly and simply explain that the event was beyond their control.
Sleep disorders. Trauma can significantly disrupt children’s sleep patterns. Some children may experience difficulty falling asleep, others may wake up frequently during the night, or have troubling nightmares related to the trauma. Provide comfort items such as a stuffed animal, soft blanket, or nightlight to create a sense of security at bedtime. Spend extra time with your child in the evenings, engaging in quiet and calming activities like reading together before bed. Be patient and understanding, as it may take time for your child’s sleep patterns to return to normal.
Feeling helpless. Trauma can leave children feeling powerless and overwhelmed. Engaging in age-appropriate activities that promote a sense of agency and control can be empowering. For example, being active in a community campaign to prevent similar events from happening again (where appropriate), writing thank-you letters to helpers and first responders, or participating in caring for others (pets, younger siblings, community service) can help restore a sense of hope and control for children and the entire family.

Last updated or reviewed on August 23, 2024