What is Trauma?

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Trauma is the response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope.  Many people have strong emotional or physical reactions following experience of a traumatic event.  For most, these reactions subside over a few days or weeks.  For some, the symptoms may last longer and be more severe.

Symptoms of a trauma include:

• Changes in cognition or thoughts - such as intrusive and disturbing thoughts, memories or dreams.
• Changes in behavioural patterns - such as avoidance symptoms, social withdrawal, loss of interest in normal activities or increased risk-taking.
• Changes in emotional patterns - such as fear, depression, guilt, shame, anger, detachment, anxiety and panic.
• Changes in physical reactivity - such as excessive alertness (always on the look-out for signs of danger), being easily startled, fatigue, disturbed sleep and general aches and pains.

As long as these symptoms are not too severe or don't last for too long, they are normal reactions to trauma, which although distressing, will settle quickly in most people.  They are part of the process of adjusting to a very powerful event, making some sense out of what happened, and putting it into perspective.  However, some people will develop more serious conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, or alcohol and drug problems.

Meg and Anita have extensive experience working with trauma.