TRAUMA AND COPING STRATEGIES

Trauma is defined as “severe emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience” (The Cambridge Dictionary).  The psychiatric definition of “trauma” is “an event outside normal human experience.” Trauma generally leaves you feeling powerless, helpless, paralyzed. It tends to be sudden and overwhelming; it “owns” you. 

You cannot think clearly during and after a severe trauma; at the same time, you are forced to focus your consciousness in an attempt to deal. One author defines trauma as “any sudden and potentially life-threatening event.” 

Trauma can be defined as a bodily and/or mental injury caused by an external agent. When a person encounters a traumatic experience, he/she becomes an injured person that suffers from physical and emotional wounds. The word “Trauma” is derived from the Greek word meaning “wound”.

This refers to one –time traumatic events, but most of it applies to prolonged, repeated trauma as well.

Some instances of one-time trauma.

  • Being seriously injured
  • Being assaulted, raped or robbed
  • Experiencing a significant bereavement
  • Witnessing a death or major accident
  • Divorce or other significant relationship breakdown
  • Experiencing a significant (non-death-related) loss or series of losses
  • Being abused (physically, sexually or emotionally).
  • Natural disasters (earthquake, flood, hurricane, etc)  
  • Accidents (automobile, airplane, train, etc) 

Some instances of prolonged trauma.

  • physical or sexual abuse as a child or spouse 
  • war 
  • life in a prison camp 
  • life as a refugee 
  • hostage situations 
  • life in a concentration camp 
  • life in some religious cults

Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes; events such as divorce, job loss, death, mugging, armed robbery, rape, car accident, illness, failing an exam, losing your car or house – in fact any event that you regard as negative and that changes your view of yourself and your world.  Most people will suffer a traumatic experience at least once in their life.

Four Types of Trauma

There are four basic types of trauma:

  1. Physical Trauma ~ accidents, surgery, anesthesia, assaults.
  2. Emotional Trauma ~ abandonment, neglect, ridicule, encroachment. 
  3. Sexual Trauma ~ rape, molestation, unhealthy or premature exposure to sexual energy or acts, cultural ignorance on sexual diversity. 
  4. Endurance Trauma ~ a prolonged sense of feeling unsafe in one’s world during childhood.

It is important to identify feelings and emotions you may feel during and after a traumatic experience. These emotions will vary from individual to individual, but the most commonly experienced emotions are anger and fear.  

 What are the immediate effects of single-instance trauma?

Emotional 

Emotional trauma can be very distressing, generating very profound and far-reaching emotional reactions.

    • Shock, including numbed emotions, questioning of perceptions, memory disturbances 
    • Denial, which helps reduce terror, helplessness, and fear of dying or being abandoned to manageable levels 
    • Confusion and disorientation 
    • Numbness 
    • Panic 
    • Weeping 
    • Extreme anxiety and insecurity 
    • Inflexibility 
    • Dissociation, feelings of unreality

Regardless of its source, an emotional trauma contains three common elements:

  • it was unexpected
  • the person was unprepared
  • there was nothing the person could do to prevent it from happening

Cognitive 

Cognitive  refers to thinking processes and memory. An individual exposed to a traumatic experience can find it difficult to ‘think straight’ and may have a degree of memory impairment, on a short-term basis at least.

    • Disbelief, another protective device 
    • Disorientation and confusion 
    • Difficulty thinking and concentrating 
    • Unwanted thoughts — traumatic memories may intrude on everyday living and in dreams, leaving you feeling out of control. 
    • Perceptual problems– The world may seem unsafe, unsteady, unpredictable and unfair
    • Traumatic memories — intense, clear, vivid images 
    • Forgetfulness

Hyperarousal

Behavioural People’s behaviour can be significantly affected by a traumatic experience. For example, an outgoing person can become quite withdrawn. Some might have the following:

    • Trouble sleeping 
    • Trouble concentrating 
    • Heightened vigilance 
    • Easily startling 
    • Being wary 
    • Sudden tears or anger or panic 
    • Increased alertness and anxiety

Body

    • Gastrointestinal symptoms 
    • Headaches 
    • Allergy symptoms 
    • Menstrual problems

Coping Strategies:

You are unlikely to experience all of the listed stress responses. You may experience some in a very mild form or very briefly, and none should become a long-term problem if you follow some healthy coping strategies – and avoid a few misguided ones.

First of all, just a few DON’TS:

  • Do NOT let yourself become withdrawn or isolated during this time. 
  • Do NOT resort to overmedication or drug/alcohol use for coping or escape. 
  • Do NOT bottle up all of your feelings or fears; you may prolong the recovery process, not shorten it. 
  • Do NOT assume that your mental, physical, or emotional stress reactions are a sign of weakness, craziness, or loss of control, when they are probably a normal part of the recovery process. 

It is important during times of extra stress to take positive steps to renew and care for yourself.  

Here are some DO choices:

  • Go for counselling 
  • Try to keep most of your personal routines in place, such as regular meals or other everyday rituals; these can re-establish some order when your life has been temporarily turned upside down. 
  • Just do what you can do: Even if you have little appetite, eat something healthy to keep yourself going. Even if your concentration is poor, it may still be wise to go to class (or work) or look at a book versus doing nothing at all. If you are not in a party mood but you do want to go out to be with friends, they should be fine with that if you let them know your wishes. 
  • When you can, allow yourself to feel emotions such as sadness, anger, or grief over what happened. Talking to others about your feelings is important. Make that long-distance call or write your experience down – whatever helps your mind digest this experience and put it behind you. 
  • Get some appropriate physical exercise, along with regular sleep, rest, and relaxation. 
  • Use family and friends you trust for some informal debriefing, but feel free to use a professional counsellor for some debriefing, too. It can be part of dealing with an experience promptly and preventing future complications.  
  • Discuss your experience with anyone who went through the event with you. If a group debriefing meeting is offered (by a trained professional), take advantage of the opportunity. 

If your traumatic experience also involved a personal loss, such as the death of someone close to you, recognize that your stress or shock will be accompanied by grief reactions as well, which will deserve appropriate expression and recovery time in their own right.

References:
2007 Laurier University Student Services
Crisis support team, 25 April, 2006
Health Media, 24
Martin V. Cohen, Ph.D.

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