Psychological trauma

Definition: A damage or disruption to the mind due to an event/series of events, ranging from something upsetting such as having an injury, to being in a car crash, all the way to the extremes of being raped and/or tortured.

Psychologist John Bowlby defines trauma as “knowing what you are not supposed to know and feeling what you are not supposed to feel”.

A component in the trauma’s impact is whether or not an act was perpetrated by a known person – or more specifically, whether it featured a betrayal of trust.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a term given to people who suffer high levels of anxiety due to the re-living of a trauma, which can significantly affect a person’s day-to-day life. Around 30% of trauma victims will develop symptoms of PTSD.

Complex trauma applies to people who have symptoms additional to those of PTSD, such as depersonalisation or dissociation.

Vicarious trauma refers to exposure to someone else’s accounts of trauma or witnessing the pain and suffering of a traumatised individual/group of trauma survivors. VT can affect a person’s personality and outlook on life.

Do any of these descriptions apply to you or to people in your life? Understanding more about the physiological and psychological effects of trauma may help yourself and your relationships – since it is, alas, all too common.