Understanding Trauma

Life is fraught with difficult and scary situations. Sometimes these situations are beyond our control and overload our ability to deal with the event physically and mentally. Unfortunate and frightening examples of such events include a car accident or death of a loved one. When we experience a traumatic event, we might feel devastated. The result of tragic events can leave us in shock and feeling hopeless and helpless. These feelings of shock and helplessness result from personal trauma because of the traumatic event we experienced. After the traumatic event, it is important to recognize the warning signs of trauma. In doing so, we can begin to cope with the trauma and eventually grow stronger for ourselves, our family, friends, and our community.

Trauma Defined

Trauma is our body's response when we experience an event that is physically life-threatening or emotionally hurtful. When we experience trauma, it can leave lasting effects on our mental and physical well-being and produce warning signs that we may not recognize right away. A simple way to think about trauma is to consider the largest amount of stress you can manage in response to an uncontrollable event. In many cases, the event disrupts our ability to cope because of the significant loss of relationships and things necessary to meet our basic needs.

How does trauma affect the body?

When an individual experiences trauma, it activates the sympathetic nervous system, which we will call the survival system. The survival system is designed to keep us alive, such as during a physically threatening event. Once the survival system is activated, the brain signals the body to pump out stress hormones. These hormones divert blood flow to the heart, lungs, liver, and muscles and prepare us to fight or flee (survive). Once we experience the trauma of the event, our survival system does not readily shut off. That leads to traumatic stress. Traumatic stress can impair a person’s ability to make decisions and cope. Even thinking or hearing about the traumatic event activates the survival system weeks or months after it occurred.

References:

National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2006). Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide 2nd Edition. Rockville, MD: National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/d7/priv/sma14-4884.pdf

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Coping Tips for Traumatic Events and Disasters. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline/coping-tips

Source: Paul Norrod, DrPH, RN, Extension specialist for Rural Health and Farm Safety

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