Counselling for Trauma: What can Trauma Look Like?
How do we Define Trauma?
Trauma, in its form as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), can broadly be defined in two parts. The condition is predicated on the exposure of an individual to a highly threatening circumstance - be it physical, emotional / psychological - and the resulting physio-psychological response of the individual to their trauma’s associated stimuli.
The difficulty in diagnosing trauma is pervasive, and for good reason. For many individuals, avoidance of the related triggers is a common method of coping with its overwhelming nature - which by natural consequence can mean the avoidance of treatment.
The possibility also exists that individuals are unaware of the links between symptoms of their trauma, and the phenomenon of their trauma itself. How exactly should forms of PTSD be demarcated, and how can we facilitate counselling for trauma? Let’s explore them in depth.
What Trauma Can Look Like
The categories of trauma can exist from the everyday banality - like a job loss, or death of a pet - to those of the ‘big T’ variety, which might include experiences such as assault, abuse and other incidents that could be life-threatening, and are associated with acute feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
Fundamentally, these are broken down into either Single-incident or Complex forms of trauma, or Type 1 and Type 2/3 respectively.
Single trauma more commonly accounts for those of the ‘big T’ forms as listed above, and historically sees individuals develop their symptoms out of single incidents. Because of how prolific the diagnosis is as a stereotype, though, it’s common for many to assume grand, momentous events as causes when the topic of trauma is discussed. In this case, it’s the extreme nature of the trigger that’s often enough to threaten the individuals’s emotional or physical safety, and consequently stays with the individual later in life.
Complex trauma, by comparison, observe individuals being exposed to stimuli for longer or repeated periods of time, with some slight differences between the two.
Although both surround the reinforcement of particular behaviours over the period of their traumatic exposure, Complex trauma are commonly (although not always) developed within the bounds of interpersonal relationships - conventionally within the domestic household / peers, and more broadly among significant figures in the individual’s childhood and developmental life.
Complex trauma has a much more circumstantial characterisation of its triggers, and can range from physical, sexual, and emotional / psychological abuse, witness of violent and dangerous events, bullying, or abuse in the context of close interpersonal relationships. These circumstances could lead to traumatic responses, which could involve dysfuncational ways of relating to self and others, as well as challenges in emotional regulation.
Symptoms of Trauma
The responses to trauma can look very different from one person to another, depending on other factors in a person’s life.
Some of the common experiences of individuals following trauma could include:
Emotional dysregulation
Emotional numbing and dissociations
Substance abuse as a means of short-lived pain relief
Sleep disturbances
Abnormal changes in heart rate
Difficulty breathing
Somatisation, or the expression of emotional distress in some physical manifestation
Co-morbid psychiatric conditions the likes of depression, anxiety or related anxiety disorders
Hyper-vigilance or arousal
Avoidance of triggers
Flashbacks related to traumatic experience
Nightmares
The above list is not exhaustive and that there are a number of ways trauma and complex trauma can be treated and managed. You can reach out to our Melbourne Psychologists if you want to discuss further.