What Is Trauma?

A lot of people thought trauma is for people who went to war, experienced assault, got into an accident or been in natural calamities, then they get PTSD due to their traumas.  But traumas come in big and small repeated events (divorce, break up, bullying, abuse, neglect, loss of loved ones, disappointments, rejection, abandonment, etc.).  A significant event/traumas can affect your life but repeated life events can also affect your life negatively.

Not talking about significant events or your trauma will not make it go away. The more you push it down and try to forget about it, the more it will try to come up and remind you that it exists and it happened.  It comes up as nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, panic attack, anger, sadness, uncontrolled emotions, etc.  It has different ways of reminding you that it is unresolved and it needs to be processed.

Talking about trauma or the significant event(s) in your life is the start of the healing process.  The more you talk or process it, the more it becomes just a fact.  It may take a while and it may be scary but the healing starts when we start to talk about it with a professional.  There are different ways of processing and talking about your trauma: with a professional or in a support group; through art; through creativity; writing/journaling; trauma timeline.