When people hear the word trauma, they usually think of many things. They may think of something that happened to them in the past such as a car accident. Some people may think about being physically abused, emotionally abused or neglected. Other people may think about being shoot, shooting someone, or seeing someone die in front of them. Certain groups of people who grew up in a community may think about not having new schoolbooks or computers when they attended school and now seeing their children experiencing the exact same thing. All these things are considered trauma. As you can see trauma can cover a variety of incidents, situations or experiences.
What is Trauma?
We know that trauma is a broad category, but what is trauma? Trauma is an emotional or psychological response to a distressing event, experience or situation. Immediately after this event, experience or situation, a person may experience shock or denial. Long term reactions may include flashbacks, unpredictable emotions, strained relationships, physical symptoms or long-term neurosis.
What is PTSD?
When many people think of trauma as it relates to mental health, they think of the PTSD Diagnosis. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a diagnosis defined by the DSM V. It is a mental health condition that may develop following a frightening, stressful or distressing life event. PTSD may be characterized by intrusive thoughts about an incident, recurrent distress or anxiety, intense fear, helplessness, avoidance or flashbacks. Other problems it may cause are trouble sleeping, nightmares, feeling worried or angry outbursts. A person may be diagnosed with PTSD when they experience a traumatic event that affects their normal life and daily functioning. This does not have to necessary occur right after the traumatic event, it may be delayed. However, for a person to be diagnosed with PTSD, they must meet a certain set of criteria.
In addition, if someone is diagnosed with PTSD there are many types of traumas that a person could experience. We will be going over just a few of these. So, what are the different types of traumas? The main types of traumas we will be discussing are Acute, Chronic, Complex and Historical.
Acute Trauma
Acute trauma refers to a singular traumatic event that has happened in your life. This specific event is defined by a beginning, middle and end. Some examples of Acute Trauma are car accidents, sexual assault or rape, physical altercations, natural disaster or witnessing a violent event.
Chronic Trauma
Chronic trauma usually results from a prolonged and ongoing abuse. This type of trauma may exist for several weeks, months or years. It’s also usually within the context of a specific relationship. Some examples of this are domestic violence, bullying, long-term child abuse, ongoing sexual abuse, or war or combat situations.
Complex Trauma
Complex trauma refers to a experiencing a trauma that has long-term emotional and physical symptoms. This type of trauma is often the most severe. It can affect a person’s development and sense of safety in the world. Children experiencing complex trauma may also experience severe psychological distress. In children, complex trauma in childhood may include verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment or abuse, prolonged neglect, real or perceived abandonment, homelessness, transitioning in and out of foster homes, or extreme financial instability and distress. In adults, complex trauma can occur in various situations such as domestic violence, ongoing struggles with substance abuse, repeated medical emergencies, financial distress, prolonged homelessness or being involved in a cult.
Historical Trauma
Historical trauma refers to the cumulative emotional harm and psychological pain over a person’s life and across multi generations stemming from traumatic experiences or events. The three elements of historical trauma are a trauma or wounding, a trauma that is shared by a group of people as opposed to by an individual, and the trauma spans across multiple generations which may cause other members of the affected group to experience trauma related symptoms although they may not have been present during the past trauma. Some examples of groups that have experienced this are children of Holocaust Survivors, Native Americans, African Americans, and Immigrants. Another example is families that have experienced intergenerational poverty.
As you can see there are many different types of trauma; however, the main categories of trauma are acute, chronic, complex and historical trauma. Each of these types of trauma result from different experiences, or situations. Some of these may overlap and it’s very possible for people to have different types of reactions to the same trauma. If you have experienced any of these situations listed in any of these examples, it’s very possible that you may have or are still experiencing trauma. This is a hard concept for some people to grasp about themselves or loved ones. However, it’s important to understand the different types of trauma so that you can identify and address it.
Therapy is beneficial and can be a great start to identifying and understanding this for yourself. It’s also possible to work through your trauma regardless of the type. By reaching out to a therapist, they can explore this with you, work with you to develop a plan of action, and assist you with working on your trauma.
