What is Trauma?

We hear trauma being tossed around a lot, but what is it?

A traumatic experience is any event that overwhelms your nervous system and takes away your sense of safety and control. Everyone processes their experiences differently, so what is traumatic to one person may not be to another. Furthermore, experiencing a traumatic event doesn’t necessarily mean someone will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any other trauma- or stressor-related disorder. Some people experience traumatic events and feel little to no long-term disturbance from the experience, while others continue to be impacted.

Big T and Little t Traumas

Traumatic experiences can be categorized as big T traumas and little t traumas.

Big T traumas are often single incident events a person experiences that are extremely distressing and overwhelming to one's system. Big T traumas expose someone to threatened or actual death or serious injury of themselves or others.

Big T Traumas include:

• war

• natural disasters

• major accidents

• abuse

• shootings

• violent crimes

• sexual assault

Little t traumas are experiences that aren’t life threatening, but still impact your sense of safety and control. These events are often ongoing, causing chronic distress to your system over an extended period of time.

Little T Traumas include:

• bullying

• divorces or breakups

• experiencing home conflict

• losing someone meaningful

• feeling ostracized or left out by others

Both forms of trauma can be damaging to your system’s ability to settle. Instead, your brain is constantly scanning the environment, waiting for the next thing to happen. Often, exposure to trauma can impact your ability to connect with others, feel positively toward yourself, and feel like the world is a safe place.

What Predisposes Someone to Developing PTSD?

There are many factors that go into the likelihood of someone developing PTSD or a trauma- or stressor-related disorder. 

Some of these factors include:

• Personal sense of control at the time of the event(s)

• How predictable the event(s) felt

• How often the event took place (once or numerous times)

• Support following the event(s)

• Prior trauma history

There’s Nothing Wrong With You

So often, trauma survivors can feel like there’s something broken about them. I see so many people struggling with so much shame and judgment around their symptoms. If this feels like you, know that there is nothing broken about you–your brain has perfectly adapted to your experiences to allow you to survive. How incredible is that??

We can celebrate how protective your brain is and also acknowledge that it really sucks to be stuck living with post-traumatic symptoms. With trauma-informed therapy, you can find safety again. Together, we will work to identify your symptoms, learn more about your history, and find ways to achieve the goals you want to see in your life.