Emotional trauma / PTSD

Emotional trauma is our reaction to a severe threat of death, injury or violation (the threat can be towards ourselves or someone close to us). Witnessing such events creates feelings of fear, horror, hopelessness and emotional pain.

Most people recover well within a few weeks of a single traumatic event without counselling or medication. However, in some cases of extreme trauma, or for people who have experienced repeated or multiple traumas, counselling and / or medication may be helpful.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a more complex reaction to trauma that is disruptive to normal living. PTSD can be effectively treated with counselling and / or medication.

Trauma can cause an individual to develop flawed beliefs about themselves or the world around them, which in turn can result in behaviours that may seem incompetent or inappropriate.

There are two types of trauma:

• “big T” traumas, resulting from instances such as war, disasters, accidents, losses, abuse, and assaults
• “small t” traumas, which may be minor individually yet can cause an individual to have less self-confidence, preventing the person from living their life to the fullest potential and leading to suffering as a result of self-limiting views.

Traumatic experiences can affect the person who has suffered trauma dramatically, causing them to question their sense of self and the order of the world. Traumatic experiences can result in anxiety and/or depression and give rise to other co-occurring disorders such as eating disorders, substance abuse, and other behavioural health issues.