What is Trauma?

If you have had an experience of a stressful, frightening or distressing event, this is often given the name of trauma. Psychological trauma and emotional trauma can sometimes be categorised as events that we have found traumatic and how those experiences have affected us.

Because a traumatic event can be experienced by anyone and at any age, they can create long lasting harmful effects that ripple through our lives. Because we are all unique, you might not experience the same trauma as someone else or at the same time as the initial event.

If you have been affected by trauma, it is important to understand that your reaction to it is normal, natural and that you have survived.

What does trauma include?

Your reaction to a traumatic event is unique to you. Someone else, may have a totally different set of responses to that event. This is true of anyone, regardless of their age or training. The symptoms and reaction to trauma can manifest straight away or be triggered by an unrelated event many years later.

Trauma can include events where you feel:

frightened

under threat

humiliated

rejected

abandoned

invalidated

unsafe

unsupported

trapped

ashamed

powerless.

Indentity and Trauma

It is possible that you are suffering from trauma related to your identity whether that is racist abuse or if you identify as a member of the LGBTIQ+ community. Learning how to address that trauma and make it a thing of the past, can be a liberating process.

Is it PTSD?

Some conditions are also known to develop as a direct result of trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD).

PTSD describes a specific and extreme set of reactions that can manifest soon after a traumatic event. If you think you might have PTSD, then it is important to get a diagnosis by first contacting your GP. PTSD can be complex and requires a specialist therapist to begin the process of reworking your response to that event and it is important to have made the distinction between trauma and PTSD.

What is Therapy & Counselling?

Many people have an idea of what therapy is like because they have seen it depicted on television or in films. You make have seen someone lying on a couch or talking to an “Expert Therapist” who nods knowingly. This can be a reality for some people, but the truth is that the only expert on how to be you, is you. Your therapy at Assisi Therapy in Salisbury can include Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy or Counselling and the only thing that influences the balance of these approaches, is what is best for you.