Living with Trauma
Living with trauma is quite common among the general population
It is less common to develop Post Traumatic Symptoms because our Brains and Bodies are resilient and they can learn new ways to function
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There are many different types of Trauma:
Acute / Single event
The developed symptoms will naturally resolve within 3 months.
About 70% of us
have been through this
About 20% will develop PTSD
Complex Trauma
This describes both exposure to multiple traumatic events often as an invasive, interpersonal nature and the wide-ranging, long-term impact of this exposure. Adulthood or Childhood
Chronic Trauma
When Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] symptoms remain after 3 months
Developmental Trauma
Refers to the impact of early, repeated trauma and loss which happens within the child’s important developmental phases of their life.Usually early in life.Unborn babies can suffer trauma to their developing mind and body when they are in the womb
"Trauma is when you are screaming and nobody hears nor listen to you"
- Inspired from Bessel Van Der Kolk
Symptoms can be consciously known, as well as running under the radar of the consciousness
They affect cognition, behaviours,the perception of oneself, the perception of the Self in the world and the perception the person has of others and of the world
Living in the aftermath of trauma implies living with potentially some of the following symptoms:
. Difficulties to sleep / Nightmares / Night terrors
. Impulses:
Eating habits,
Aggressivity towards self or others,
Substance abuse / addictions
. Gastric / intestines problems
. Pain, often medically unexplained
. Physical Immobilism
. Self harm
. Low / no energy or on the contrary, being fidgety
. Difficulty to look at someone in the eyes
. Flat voice tone
. Dissociation - Dissociative Identity Disorder/DID
. Memory Loss
. Non - Neurological Epilepsy
. Hearing voices
[different from those of schizophrenia]
. . .
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- Adverse reactions to medication
​
- Difficult relationships
- Social Islotaion
- Chronic worries and/or sadness
- Anxiety / Panic Attacks
. Depression
. Brain fog / concentration difficulty
. Social isolation
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. Not recognising oneself: body / body contour, thoughts, actions, emotions, reactions
. Intimacy and Sexual issues
. Suicidal ideation
. Suicidal attempt
. Sense of Despair, Loneliness, Hopelessness
. Sense of impending Doom
. . .
Having some of some symptoms does not means they are related to trauma. Consult to clarify more
The majority of people who have been through traumatic events
will not develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Among trauma the impact of the following are rarely known or recognised,
• Neglect on children:
More often than not, the children's needs are not met
• Moral injuries:
. When you act or when you are the witness of something that you find morally reprehensible
. When there is an unequal distribution of appropriate moral accountability.
You may want to check the work of Jack Saul on moral injury
Please consult a trauma trained professionnal before considering that your symptoms are trauma related;
Context and history must be included in an evaluation and in a therapeutic work Some of these symptoms may direct to a different diagnosis