What is trauma?

There are many answers to the question of ‘what is trauma?’

Trauma is not the thing that happened (or didn’t happen).

Trauma refers to the emotional, psychological, or physical response to an event or series of events that are overwhelmingly distressing or harmful. It can arise from experiences such as:

• Accidents or Natural Disasters: Events like car crashes, earthquakes, or floods.
• Violence or Abuse: Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, as well as experiences of war or assault.
• Neglect: Not receiving the needed care one is supposed to receive as a child, such as food, clothing, shelter, unconditional love, or protection.

Trauma can manifest in various ways, including anxiety, depression, flashbacks, difficulty trusting others, and physical symptoms.

Healing from trauma often requires support and can involve therapy, self-care, and community resources.

This will be a thread throughout future posts on what types of trauma there are, how it can manifest, etc.