Some of the most difficult experiences are called traumas. The more distressing and threatening the trauma is, the more likely it is that someone will experience some mental health difficulties, at the time and perhaps later on as well many years later.
Below are some examples of traumatic experiences:
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Childhood abuse (emotional, physical, sexual or neglect)
Domestic violence (being abused or witnessing abuse)
Bullying
Physical assault such as stabbing or mugging
Rape or sexual assault
Torture
Natural disasters such as earthquakes
War and combat
Road traffic accident or work accident
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Traumatic bereavement (loss - family or pets)
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Witnessing or believing someone has died
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How do I know if I have experienced trauma?
Many people have never named the difficult experiences they have faced as ‘trauma’, and this may not be the term you prefer to use.
However, any experience that leaves you feeling overwhelmed, scared and alone can be traumatic, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm.
If your survival, well-being, sense of yourself and of the future were threatened, then you may have experienced a trauma.
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A trauma can be a one-off event such as an assault or a road traffic accident.
It can also involve many events that have occurred over a long period of time. This is often called ‘complex trauma’.
Not everyone realizes the full impact on them at the time, and in fact sometimes people believe these experiences are normal, because they don’t know any different.
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However, we know that these traumatic events can have very severe consequences.
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It is also important to note that some people do not want to talk about or feel they can't talk about these events at all and have some or all of these experiences.....
Learning to cope with the effects of difficult life experiences is not easy and often requires time and support from others.
Many people will find it helpful to discuss these ideas with a trusted therapist who is specifically experienced in supporting recovery and treatment of trauma...
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‘It is very important to remember that you CAN recover.
You will not forget what happened to you, but you can learn to manage the distress so that it no longer controls your life as it may do now.'
Therapy Solutions in Mind
Even if you have more unusual experiences such as hearing voices or having beliefs that are not shared by others, you can still learn to cope with these reactions so that they do not dominate your life.
With the help of your specialist therapist @ Therapy Solutions in Mind, you can start to overcome the effects of the trauma so that you can look towards the future.
