Trauma can have a profound affect on an individual’s brain, body, emotions, and soul. Unfortunately, the impact often last much longer than the initial feelings and physical sensations such as fear, sadness, shortness of breath, and a heart that feels as though it may claw its way out of your chest. Trauma, when left untreated, can spread to the very corners of one’s soul.
MIND/BRAIN
During a traumatic event, the brain is overwhelmed and unable to process what is happening. The various aspects of the experience – such as what you see, hear, think, feel physically, and feel emotionally – are essentially fragmented and unable to come together to form a complete memory. This prevents the memory from being processed, which leaves the memory feeling raw when triggered. For example, a person who received a call in the middle of the night that a loved one died might automatically feel scared and anxious every time a phone rings at night.
BODY
Several years ago, Kaiser Permanente embarked on an ambitious study examining the correlation between traumatic events in childhood and their affect on physical health later in life. They called it the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. The findings were powerful. They discovered that as the number of negative experiences for a child increased, so did the number of major medical issues later in life. Many abuse survivors suffer from fibromyalgia, chronic pain, high blood pressure, etc.
The connection between trauma and physical well-being has profound implications for therapists and doctors alike; calling for a holistic and integrated form of treatment.
HEART/EMOTIONS
One of the devastating affects of trauma is that often alters a person’s view of the world. What once seemed like a safe, welcoming world can suddenly be transformed into a very scary and unpredictable place. Fear can be overwhelming. Feelings of sadness and loss are common. The damage to ones heart and emotions often culminates with a feeling that it is not safe to trust others, or even themselves. This can have a profound affect on friendships, relationships, and marriages.
BEHAVIOR
The affects of trauma can lead to a lot of misdiagnosis, especially if the trauma happened early in life. For example, it is not uncommon for a child to be diagnosed with ADHD or Oppositional Defiance Disorder when the true underlying issue is PTSD. Depression and anxiety disorders may actually be the symptoms, or reaction to traumatic events.
Many of the behavioral manifestations of trauma – particularly childhood trauma – can be viewed as maladaptive coping skills. Trauma forces individuals to find ways to cope or survive. The ability to survive however they can is a strength. The problem is that as time goes on and the threat is no longer present, often times people are set in their patterns of surviving. What once kept them alive and functioning, may no longer serve them well.
SOUL
Trauma attacks the soul. Each person is unique and valuable. Trauma tells people quite the opposite. It can be difficult for someone who has experienced trauma to separate who they are with what they experienced or what others did to them. Many struggle with feeling “bad” and have a shame they cannot seem to shake.
The affects of trauma are significant and can be far reaching. No aspect of one’s being is safe from it’s damaging affects. The good news is, that it is possible to heal from trauma. It is possible to find freedom.
Coming next in the Trauma Series: EMDR & Healing from Trauma
Photo by jinterwas CC BY 2.0.
