What is trauma?

When you hear the word trauma, what do you think of?

Perhaps, like many people, your mind makes the connection with war veterans, those who have experienced abuse or been involved in a nasty accident or car crash. Maybe you think of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - where those who have been subjected to distressing events experience frightening and overwhelming responses to a trauma trigger.

But trauma isn't necessarily caused by something life-changing or life-threatening. it could arise as a result of something much more mundane or everyday, such as an unpleasant argument, humiliation or embarrassment, a relationship break-up, a bad experience at work or prolonged bullying. We've probably all experienced trauma to some degree - it's part of life.

The one thing all traumatic situations have in common is that at the time it takes place there is a large degree of highly-charged emotion involved. A mental snapshot of that incident gets imprinted in our mind with a metaphorical red flag. Then, in an attempt to protect us from that ever happening again, our brain scans the environment continually, looking out for anything that might resemble the traumatic experience.

When trauma is not addressed it can create a feeling of threat where there is, in fact, no threat. Because our minds are amazing pattern-matching machines, when we encounter a situation that even vaguely reminds us of a previous threat, our internal alarm gets activated, telling us to take action in some way and replicating the emotion of the original incident. That's when we may start to experience the symptoms of post-trauma, such as flashbacks, anxiety and panic attacks. We may become frozen and rooted to the spot, or we may feel the overwhelming urge to escape our surroundings to a place of safety.

We might appear to be overreacting or acting irrationally to onlookers. Our actions could result in conflict - for instance, we may lash out physically or verbally at people close to us - our partner, friends or family. Disproportionate responses to situations are often a symptom of unprocessed trauma.

These kinds of triggers are never a justification for poor behaviour, or taking things out on others, though. It is our responsibility to address our trauma, so that it does not affect the people around us and so that we can be at peace with ourselves

The next time you find yourself reacting in a strong way to something, you can ask yourself, "When and why have I felt this way before?" and "Is this threat real or is it a perceived threat based on my previous experiences?" Take some time to question what you are feeling, as this will encourage your mind to consider other possibilities and outcomes, giving you the opportunity to recover and regain composure. It might just save you saying something you might regret and having to make a big apology, too!

If any of this feels familiar to you, it may be time to find help with your trauma response. Hypnotherapy offers a lasting and effective solution for fears and trauma-based events, without the need to live through unpleasant past experiences again. If this is something you would like to explore further please get in touch for your free Discovery Session.