Trauma Events

It is commonly believed that traumatic shock and associated intense distress primarily occurs in response to catastrophic events, such as a house fire, witnessing a horrific car accident, war, or physical or sexual abuse.  However, trauma is not limited to witnessing or hearing about extreme assault or violence.  

Trauma Types 

It can in fact occur in response to events that don’t involve any physical violence.  For example:

• Being laid off work or forced redundancy
• Being demoted from a leadership role
• Discovering a partner’s having an affair
• Experiencing rejection
• The loss of a marital home due to a separation
• Not getting full custody of a child
• A hurtful remark or betrayal of trust

These are just some examples of events that can also result in traumatic shock.  They are not necessarily extreme forms of violence, but for the person experiencing them they can represent a profound threat.  

Subjective Trauma Response 

What will determine the shock and associated distress is how we make sense of what happened – our meaning making process.  This is why there is variability in the trauma response, because each individual will make sense of the situation in a way that is influenced by factors such as age, perspective on life, life experience, attachment history, health status, level of social support, knowledge of coping strategies and so forth.  

Not everyone exposed to war violence gets traumatised; while the death of a pet can severely destabilise another person, for instance.    Perception and meaning play a crucial role.   

The Dangers of a Narrow Definition  

When we limit our understanding of trauma as only characterising extreme violence, we risk overlooking significant sources of distress that may be contributing to or causing chronic mental or physical health problems.  We may only search for those horrific events, and if finding none, conclude that nothing bad happened, when in actual fact, the trauma may have stemmed from repeated criticism, a parent shouting in anger, or humiliation.  From a therapeutic point of view, what is important is your response to the event and the impact it had – it is not to judge whether the event was severe enough to characterise trauma.  

Final Thoughts 

Trauma can occur in response to varying degrees of perceived threat or harm.  If unresolved emotional distress is causing your chronic mental or physical health problem, then remember that trauma need not occur only in response to extreme events.  In fact, it can also occur due to exposure to seemingly minor or non-violent events.  Therefore don’t minimise or dismiss an experience because it wasn’t severe enough.  Instead, focus on your response and the impact it had.  

Wishing you health and happiness

🙂