A person may experience psychological trauma as a result of a very stressful situation. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster.”

 

But any occurrence that a person finds to be physically or emotionally threatening or damaging may trigger trauma as a reaction. After an incident, shock and denial are common emotions. War zones, natural disasters, abuse, and accidents are a few examples. Traumatic stress is a normal reaction to an abnormal event. Usually, symptoms get better with time, but people with more intense symptoms may need professional help.

Types of Trauma:

There are several types of trauma, including:

• • Acute trauma: This results from a single stressful or dangerous event.

• • Chronic trauma: This results from repeated and prolonged exposure to highly stressful events. Examples include cases of child abuse, bullying, or domestic violence.

• • Complex trauma: This results from exposure to multiple traumatic events.

Trauma can include events where you feel:

• • frightened

• • under threat

• • humiliated

• • rejected

• • abandoned

• • invalidated

• • unsafe

• • unsupported

• • trapped

• • ashamed

• • powerless

Ways trauma can happen include:

• • One-off or ongoing events

• • Being directly harmed

• • Witnessing harm to someone else

• • Living in a traumatic atmosphere

• • Being affected by trauma in a family or community.

Typical responses and reactions to tragic situations:

• • Intense or unpredictable feelings: You might be experiencing anxiety, trepidation, overwhelm or grief. Additionally, you might feel angrier or moodier than normal.

• • Changes to thoughts and behavior patterns. You might recall the incident repeatedly and in great detail. These flashbacks could happen suddenly and cause physical symptoms like perspiration or a quick heartbeat. It could be challenging to focus or decide what to do. Both eating and sleeping schedules can be thrown off; some people may overeat and oversleep, while others may have a loss of appetite and sleep.

• • Sensitivity to environmental factors. Sirens, loud noises, burning smells, or other environmental sensations may stimulate memories of the traumatic events creating heightened anxiety. These “triggers” may be accompanied by fears that the stressful event will be repeated.

• • Strained interpersonal relationships. There may be an increase in confrontation, such as arguments with family members and coworkers more frequently. Additionally, you could retreat, isolate yourself, or stop participating in your typical social activities.
  • Stress-related physical symptoms. There is a chance that chest pain, nausea, and headaches will appear. Traumatic stress may have an impact on pre-existing medical issues.

  • Traumatic stress disorder emotional signs include:

• • Shock and disbelief. You have a hard time accepting the reality of what happened, or feel numb and disconnected from your feelings.

• • Fear. You worry that the same thing will happen again, or that you’ll lose control or break down.

• • Sadness or grief, especially if people you know died or suffered life-altering consequences.

• • Helplessness. The sudden, unpredictable nature of violent crime, accidents, pandemics, or natural disasters can leave you feeling vulnerable and helpless, and even trigger anxiety or depression.

• • Guilt, that you survived when others died, or feeling that you could have done more to help.

• • Anger. You may be angry at God, governments, or others you feel are responsible, or be prone to emotional outbursts.

• • Shame, especially over feelings or fears that you can’t control.

  • Relief. You may feel relieved that the worst is over, that you weren’t as badly affected as others, or even hopeful that your life will return to normal.

  • How long will it take for these feelings to go away?

Recovering after a stressful event can take a few days, weeks, or even months.
After a month, if someone is still having some distress, but it is improving gradually, they will likely feel better and won’t require treatment.

However, if they are dealing with severe distress that has persisted for more than three months or is not getting any better after a month, they may require expert assistance.

Coping with traumatic stress

Practicing self-care can help individuals to cope with the emotional, psychological, and physical symptoms of trauma. Examples of self-care for trauma include:

1.      Exercise
The body’s fight-or-flight reaction can be triggered by trauma. Some of these symptoms might be lessened with exercise. On most days of the week, people should try to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.

2.     Mindfulness
People can become rooted in the present by practicing mindful breathing and other mindfulness-based techniques, which can prevent them from replaying the horrific incident.

3.    Remember there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to feel
People react in different ways to trauma, so don’t tell yourself (or anyone else) what you should be thinking, feeling, or doing.

4.      Give yourself time 

It can take time to recover from a traumatic event. It might take a while for you to accept what has happened or to learn to live with it. Try not to put pressure on yourself to feel better straight away.

 

5. Take care of yourself

After a traumatic event, people are more likely to have accidents. Be careful around the home and when you are driving. Try not to use alcohol or illegal drugs following a traumatic event as a way to cope. While they can make you feel better in the short term, they won’t help your recovery in the long term.

6.  Speak to others that have experienced the same thing as you

It might help you to speak to other people who experienced the same traumatic event as you, or who have had similar experiences. However, people recover and react to the same events in different ways. Try not to compare your own recovery to someone else’s.

7.  Reestablish routine

There is comfort in the familiar. After a disaster, getting back—as much as possible—to your normal routine, will help you minimize traumatic stress, anxiety, and hopelessness.
Even if your work or school routine is disrupted, you can structure your day with regular times for eating, sleeping, spending time with family, and relaxing.

8. Fix the Little Thing

Take the time to resolve small conflicts in your life so they dont build up and add stress. If you have large tasks, break them into little ones, set some priorities, then tackle them when you can. Checking those off your list will let you focus on the bigger battles.

9. Avoid making major life decisions

Switching careers or jobs and other important decisions tend to be highly stressful in their own right and even harder to take on when you’re recovering from a disaster.

10. Avoid spending lots of time alone

Being around other people has been shown to make you less likely to experience poor mental health after a traumatic event. While this might not be possible, if you live alone you might want to see if you can move in with family or a close friend after a traumatic event. If this isn’t possible, try to spend more time with people close to you, or stay in contact with them over the phone or through video calls.

11. Consider seeking professional help

The stress that comes with a traumatic event can be crippling. Sadness, fear, grief, and depression can take hold. If your feelings in the first month after the event are so severe that they interfere with your regular life, find a mental health expert in your area who can help.

• • Reference

• • Cassoobhoy. (2020, November 4). Recovering From Trauma. WebMD. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/ss/slideshow-emotional-trauma-self-care

• • Coping after a traumatic event. (2021, November). Coping After a Traumatic Event. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/problems-disorders/coping-after-a-traumatic-event

• • Leonard. (2020, June 3). What is trauma? What to know. What Is Trauma? What to Know. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/trauma

• • Rowell, & Thomley. (2013). Recovering emotionally from disaster. Recovering Emotionally From Disaster. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/topics/disasters-response/recovering

• • Smith, Robinson, & Segal. (2022, December 5). How to Cope with Traumatic Events. HelpGuide.org. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/traumatic-stress.htm