According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.” But this definition barely scratches the surface of this complex topic. We all regularly encounter potentially traumatic events. Whether or not those stressful events translate into long-term trauma depends on the individual.

Either way, roughly 50 percent of the world’s population will suffer from trauma at least once in their lifetimes. When that trauma occurs during childhood, it can lead to a wide range of emotional and physical issues as the child becomes an adult.

Common Sources of Trauma

Death of a loved one
Any sudden loss of a loved one (separation, incarceration, etc.)
Childhood neglect and abandonment
Living in poverty
Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse
Enduring or being witness to war, terrorism, crime, and other violence
Living in a household in which domestic abuse is a reality
Living in a household in which a family member is struggling with substance abuse and/or mental health problems
Racism and discrimination
Being kidnapped, trafficked, enslaved, or prostituted
Being part of a cult
Injury, illness, disability, or accident
Loss of a job or financial security
Natural disaster

Again, this list is incomplete since trauma can be in the eye of the beholder. Anything that makes you feel threatened, abandoned, unsafe, trapped, rejected, or powerless is enough to seriously impact your mental and physical well-being.

Types of Trauma

Acute: It might only take one dangerous event for trauma to take place.
Chronic: As the name implies, this type of trauma is ongoing and prolonged. For example, bullying can be relentless and take a huge toll.
Complex: Can you imagine being exposed to several traumatic events? Crimes like sex trafficking often result in Complex PTSD.
Secondary: You don’t have to be the primary target of violence or abuse to experience trauma.

How Does Trauma Happen?

When a person of any age experiences a frightening, traumatic event, it can alter their brain function. The event triggers your fight-or-flight response—thus flooding your body with stress hormones to handle the crisis. The stress and the stress hormones change how your brain stores memories. If the danger is extreme and ongoing, you can get “stuck” in this emergency state.

These memories can end up stored as sensory fragments (images, sounds, smells, tastes, or tactile sensations). Such incomplete memories are considered unresolved and leave you susceptible to triggers, flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and more. Basically, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a distinct possibility.

If the trauma victim is a child, someone of that age cannot possibly process all the factors involved. Left unaddressed and untreated, these volatile memory fragments set them up for a wide range of problems as they age.

The Potential Effects of Trauma on Your Overall Health

Increased likelihood of substance abuse: twice as many smokers, seven times as many drinkers, and ten times as many street drug users.
Four times as likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
More than twice as high a probability of sexually-transmitted infections.
People suffering from trauma can carry as much as 12 times the risk of attempting suicide.

Trauma also damages self-esteem, careers, relationships, and general physical and mental health.

Processing Trauma

Trauma therapy continues to grow and improve as a field. This means recovery is within your reach. You do not have to live your life under the shadow of trauma. In Part 2 of this series, we will explore ways that trauma can be processed no matter how long ago it happened.

If you’d like to know more about this healing process, I’m here to help. I invite you to reach out with your questions.