TRAUMA
Traumatic experiences are typically outside the scope of our day to day lives and human experience. A traumatic event can be a single experience, or a series of experiences that threaten our physical or emotional well-being. They are deeply distressing and hurtful, and can shatter basic assumptions about ourselves or the world, such as “I am safe,” “people are basically good and I can trust them,” or “I am in control of my life and of what happens to me.” Sometimes we grow up or live in ongoing traumatic situations and don’t recognize them as such. Unhealed trauma can make us feel helpless or hopeless.
It’s important to note that your personal experience of an event is what makes it traumatic, not the specifics or ‘objective facts.’ Not everyone experiencing the same event will be affected the same way.
If you experienced any of these events in your life, you may have experienced trauma:
Abandonment in early childhood
Neglect of your physical or emotional well-being as a child
Physical or sexual abuse as a child (or witnessing it)
Psychological or emotional abuse as an adult
Multi-generational or historical trauma
Violence in your community
Domestic Violence
You may experience some or all the following symptoms of trauma:
Trouble thinking clearly and communicating
Difficulty maintaining healthy boundaries
Body/physical issues or sexual challenges
Repeated dangerous patterns of behavior
Difficulty with trusting other people
Being alone or feeling alienated from others
Feeling bad about yourself
Difficulty managing your feelings
Using alcohol or drugs to numb yourself
TRAUMA RESOURCES
The National Institute on Trauma
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute