What is trauma? Growing up, I always thought that trauma was a huge, horrific event that significantly impaired someone's capacity to function normally. This is true, but it's not the only form of trauma. Trauma also comes in smaller, more pervasive forms. Many family systems have dysfunctional dynamics that can become internalized in not good ways by the developing mind. I frequently find that most individuals with traumatic childhoods, whether big trauma or smaller but pervasive trauma, tend to walk around with similar discomfort as adults.
Trauma is perhaps the most complex of the co-occurring conditions I typically see and frequently requires professional guidance. Many individuals experience trauma with little to no negative effects because of protective factors like social support, family support, safety at home, and personal resiliency. Others who experience trauma who lack the resources and safety to effectively process and restore balance frequently develop negative effects.
Trauma can negatively impact each area of the biopsychosocial spiritual model:
Biological – Our Central Nervous System regulates our heart rate, blood pressure, hormone secretion, digestive processes, sleep, pain, and several other vital functions. Disruption to the Central Nervous System’s ability to smoothly alternate between the Fight/Flight/Freeze and Rest/Digest can have significant health effects.
Psychological – Our self-worth, intimacy, trust, feeling of safety, and our sense of power and control can also be disrupted by trauma.
Social – Trauma can be viewed as the broken or damaged connection between ourselves and others, which can significantly disrupt our ability to comfortably connect with other people.
Spiritual – Many individuals find that their connection to the spiritual realm is disrupted by trauma potentially resulting in a loss of faith, hope, and/or purpose. Alternatively, some individuals will develop a very rigid, all encompassing faith, that can limit awareness of the need for assistance in other areas of the biopsychosocial model.
Therapy for trauma can involve several different kinds of interventions. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Prolonged Exposure, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Seeking Safety, and a few others are all evidence based interventions worth exploring with your therapist. The intervention should be individually tailored based on the trauma experienced, the impact it's had on you, how your brain processes information, and your preferences for therapy. The ultimate goal of trauma therapy is to repair the impact of unresolved adverse experiences and build resiliency against future challenges. Safety and rapport with your therapist are necessary components of the healing process, so finding someone you trust and respect is essential.
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