The Scope of Trauma
Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience.
Results of trauma are an altered self. It may not happen all at once but major changes occur socially, in appearance, thought patterns, fears, avoidance, anxiety etc.
In general, trauma can be defined as a psychological, emotional response to an event or an experience that is deeply distressing or disturbing. Everyone processes a traumatic event differently because we all face them through the lens of prior experiences in our lives. If a young child experiences abuse and reports it to her parent the child is:
1. Believed and the adult responds appropriately with concern, care and justice.
2. The child is called liar, told not to say such things, is labeled a hypochondriac, and/or perhaps lead them to believe it was their fault.
The second response from the caregiver causes a disruption in the way the child responds to what they witness and assigns beliefs and reactions.
