Etymologically, the word trauma derives from Greek and means wound. Taking as a reference Pierre Janet (1859-1947 Paris), a French philosopher, psychologist and neurologist who made important contributions to the modern study of mental disorders, we would define psychological trauma as “the result of exposure to a stressful and unavoidable event that overwhelms the person’s coping mechanisms”.
Advancing in the complexity of this issue, we could expand this definition by adding that it is an event, or accumulation of events of varying intensity, that injures our sense of safety and well-being, and that activates or promotes the development of false or destructive beliefs about ourselves and/or the world and others.
Are there recurrent causes of psychological trauma?
Often, when we hear about trauma, we tend to associate it with problems caused by major natural disasters or serious situations caused by man, such as wars, accidents or abuse. However, from a mental health perspective, psychological trauma can be caused by a wide variety of situations, whether they are one-off or repeated, or of greater or lesser intensity.
Specialists differentiate between traumas with a “T” due to the great magnitude of their causes, or traumas with a “t” whose origin is related to apparently minor events, such as: situations of lack of protection, humiliation, change of roles in the family, romantic breakups or loss of a job, among others.
However, the (relative) importance of the causes of trauma does not determine the quality of the damage it produces. That is to say, a Trauma with a capital T can be as harmful as a trauma with a lowercase t, since its effects will depend on each person, his or her history, the psycho-affective environment in which it develops and the time at which the incident occurred and its possible repetition over time.
It is interesting to note that in the reference manual for the diagnosis of mental disorders there is a relevant paradigm shift, in which, precisely, the emphasis falls on the reaction of the individual and not on the event that originates the trauma.
Thus, trauma, regardless of its origin, affects in such a way the perception of safety, the belief system and the psycho-physical health of the people who suffer it, that they may experience very deep alterations in different areas and vital areas.
How is trauma dealt with in therapy?
There is no single approach to trauma or traumatic symptomatology. However, there is already a lot of research that supports the efficacy of certain approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or EMDR treatment, which combines theoretical-clinical elements of orientations such as psychoanalysis or cognitive-behavioral intervention. Any psychotherapeutic approach can be carried out in combination or not, depending on the case, with a psycho-pharmacological approach.
Whichever approach is chosen, the active ingredients in the treatment of trauma require to some extent:
- (Re)establishing a basis of security in the person: that is, that he/she again feels that he/she has internal and external control over the symptoms that interfere with his/her life and carry a risk of traumatization.
- Reminiscing and adaptive processing of the traumatic history: this will allow working with those memories, or fragments of memories, to eventually store them in the person’s explicit or narrative memory and, eventually, to elaborate a mourning process.
- Reconnecting the person with life, the present and the future: this will facilitate redefining him or herself in the context of meaningful daily activities and relationships, as well as in relation to any future projects of potential interest and gratification to the person.
How can I recognize if I have a trauma and if I should go to therapy?
A traumatic event is a negative event whose consequences usually affect the physical or psychological integrity of the person who suffers it. The intensity of the event and the impossibility of giving adequate responses to cope with it explain, in part, the impact suffered by the traumatized person and this is usually enough to decide to seek help from a specialist in psychology.
Some of the most frequently experienced symptoms are: intrusive and intense feelings of fear, helplessness, loss of control and threat or insecurity. In addition, there is an increased alertness and arousal response (irritability, difficulties in sleeping or eating patterns) and avoidance behaviors, mainly related to stimuli or situations related to the traumatic experience.
Thus, a traumatic event usually generates a loss of basic trust, of the integrity of the self and of the person, which makes it difficult to make sense of what happened, to elaborate it and to integrate it adequately into one’s life history.
Is it possible to “cure” a trauma and how long does it usually take?
Each person and process is absolutely individual and unique, so it is not possible to put time limits on overcoming and/or recovering from a traumatic experience.
In Japan there is an ancient practice called kintsugi. It is the art of repairing a broken object, usually ceramic or porcelain, by sealing its cracks with gold dust. This practice requires such patience and concentration that it is even considered a form of therapy. Its particularity, however, is that the objective is not to make the cracks disappear, but to make them shine and integrate them into the repaired object. This comparison is particularly useful when referring to the healing process of a psychological trauma and the deep scars it can leave in the psyche of the sufferer.
Each person will initiate a unique and personal process to restore these scars until they are able to integrate them into their life history. People with more strength and/or resources will recover faster and may even emerge stronger from the experiences.
However, it is very important to keep in mind that no matter how strange a person’s reaction to a trauma may seem, they are all legitimate and should be respected without judgment, both by the victim and his or her family and social environment.
The responses and sequelae of traumatic events, their persistence over time, and the possible comorbidity with other psycho-physical problems, make both their diagnosis and treatment laborious, so that haste is not a good advisor.