Psychological Trauma

Table of Contents:

1. What is psychological trauma?
2. Evolution of psychological trauma
3. Symptoms of psychological trauma
4. How is the existence of a trauma determined?
5. Causes of psychological trauma
6. Can the development of psychological trauma be prevented?
7. What treatments exist?
8. What specialist treats it?

What is a psychological trauma?

A trauma is an event that, from a psychological point of view, has been a problem for the patient. It can be events that have occurred suddenly or unexpectedly, exceeding the individual’s capacity to handle this problem and disturbing the basic frames of reference by which the person is guided to understand and handle the situations around him/her.

Trauma can be divided depending on the action that triggered it. Thus, there may be traumas related to childhood, violence, bereavement, natural disasters or accidents.

Evolution of psychological trauma

Psychological trauma is a pathology that can be treated by psychology. There are different techniques used by psychologists to work on the unconscious and the emotional part of the brain, which is where post-traumatic shock occurs.

Symptoms of psychological trauma

After experiencing a traumatic situation, the brain goes into shock, which triggers psychological trauma. Some symptoms that may indicate psychological trauma are:

• Insomnia and nightmares
• Irritability
• Anxiety and nervousness
• Fear
• Confusion
• Feelings of guilt and shame
• Emotional indifference

How is the existence of trauma determined?

The symptoms of psychological trauma are key to the diagnosis of this pathology. The psychologist will evaluate the patient and assess the type of trauma and the effect it may have had on the patient’s daily life.

Patients with a psychological trauma usually manifest
anxiety, depression and feelings of guilt

What are the causes of psychological trauma?

The causes of psychological trauma are based on traumatic experiences that have not been overcome and that have broken the psychological balance of the individual. Therefore, these causes will be individual, since what may be a traumatic experience for one person may not be for others.
However, there are generalized situations that have an important emotional impact on many people, such as physical and psychological mistreatment, abuse, the death of a loved one, illnesses with serious consequences, etc. In addition, there are factors that can lead to the appearance of trauma, such as the existence of previous psychological problems.

Can it be prevented?

It is not possible to prevent psychological trauma because the event that triggers the trauma occurs suddenly or unexpectedly. The treatment of this trauma will be key to stop its development.

Treatments for psychological trauma

When there is a psychological trauma that is limiting the patient’s life, the ideal is to attend psychological therapy. In addition, there are different techniques that can be useful to treat psychological trauma:

• EMDR technique, one of the most avant-garde techniques within Psychology that is widely used to overcome post-traumatic stress. This technique stimulates both brain hemispheres through alternating sounds in the ears, hands or through visual stimulation. This gives meaning to what happened, since it works on the sounds, smells, thoughts, images and sensations related to the traumatic moment.
• Hypnosis: this is another recurrent technique when overcoming a traumatic event. In this case the patient is relaxed but attentive, which produces a decrease in cortical activation. This allows us to restructure memories and reduce the negative impact on our emotions.
• Minfulness techniques: consists of mental exercises to combat the traumatic impact. It is a type of meditation that helps the patient to alleviate mental discomfort, paying attention to the moment and leaving aside the banal things that surround him/her.
• Brain integration techniques: this is one of the most used techniques to solve traumas, panic attacks and anxiety. This technique works, from a neurophysiological, cognitive and electrical approach, the field of thought and the way in which the brain collects information.
• Brainspotting: approaches trauma from a deep and transformative perspective, which helps the patient to overcome the emotional wounds caused by the traumatic event. The technique consists of connecting emotional and physical reactions with the aim of identifying the brain point and releasing blocked emotions.

Which specialist treats it?

The specialist who treats this pathology is an expert in Psychology.