Trauma Information
Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center - Trauma
*** Information sourced from the Office for Victims of Crime***
When Crisis Becomes Trauma
A critical emotional reaction to a frightening or life-threatening event is natural
Some survivors may develop psychological trauma, particularly if the event was acute and intense (murder of a loved one, child abuse, etc)
Signs of psychological trauma may not be evident
Some people can appear “high-functioning,” burying their trauma and not letting it show
What is Trauma?
Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening
Has lasting adverse effects on the individuals functioning and physical, emotional, or spiritual well-being
Trauma can occur by experiencing an event, witnessing an event, or hearing about an event
For example, people who witnesses 9/11 experienced trauma despite not being the people inside the buildings
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (Criteria for diagnosing trauma)
Direct personal experience of an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or other threats to one’s physical integrity; or witnessing an event that involves death, injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of another person; or learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a family member or other close associate. The person’s response to the event must involve intense fear, helplessness, or horror (or in children, the response must involve disorganized or agitated behavior).
Types of Trauma Events
One-Time or Infrequent Events
Accidents
Natural disasters
Violent or nonviolent crimes
Deaths or other significant loss (i.e. divorce, being fired)
Almost any type of violence
Rape/ sexual assault
Chronic or Repetitive Events
Child abuse or neglect
Combat
Detention centers
Ongoing domestic violence (including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse)
Children who witness domestic violence
Enduring deprivation
Community violence
Historical trauma
Reactions
Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will experience trauma. Not everyone who experiences similar events will react the same way. Trauma response can vary from person to person
A person’s background, experiences, age, etc can affect trauma responses due to the presence or lack of resilience.
Risk Factors for Trauma
Mental Health
Mental health issues will increase. This applies to the individual, as well as the individual’s family. A family history of mental health issues is a key factor
Past Events
Exposure to any type of previous trauma event -- such as a serious accident, illness, domestic violence, or child abuse -- can significatly increase the risk of trauma.
Support
The amount of support that people felt they had after experiencing the trauma event can determine their risk of trauma. Someone who receives little to no support from family and friends after an event has a greater risk of developing trauma
If a person is unable to share their traumatic experience due to shame or fear of consequences for others involved (typically in cases of child abuse, domestic violence, and/or sexual assault) it can be nearly impossible for them to get the proper support they need.
Intensity of Trauma Event
The trauma event itself can affect the risk of trauma. If the event is intense, such as witnessing a murder, prolonged, as in repeated child abuse, or gruesome, as in a plane crash, the risk of trauma will be greater. The risk is also increased if the victim experienced a strong threat to his or her life during the event
Emotional Response
The intensity of the person’s emotional response (intense fear, helplessness, horror, guilt, and shame) at the time of the trauma event often determines the risk of a later trauma response.
Symptoms of Trauma
Some people will react privately, some publicly. Some will have a shorter response and some will take a very long time to face their trauma.
Distress
This is a common response to a trauma event. It is less severe than a disorder. A disorder has specific criteria and is classified as a mental health illness; distress is not.
Almost everyone with significant exposure to a trauma event has some immediate degree of discomfort and temporary disruption in functioning, including intrusive memories, increased anxiety and periods of depression, and increased arousal (sleeplessness, vigilance, agitation, and irritability). Most people with these symptoms will improve over time and can benefit from education and counseling in the primary care setting.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Research suggests that survivors of violent crime are at greater risk of developing PTSD than survivors of noncriminal trauma events such as natural disasters
Nearly 40% of physical assault survivors report experiencing PTSD symptoms at some point in their lives
Overall, 25% of people who experience violent crime experience a lifetime risk of experiencing PTSD
PTSD is one of the more common clinically diagnosable disorders following a trauma event.
PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the event, but they may not appear until months of years later
There are four categories of PTSD symptoms
Reliving the event (also called re-experiencing symptoms)
Survivors may have bad memories or nightmares. They may even feel like they’re going through the event again. This is called a flashback
Avoiding situations that remind the survivors of the event
Survivors may try to avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the trauma event. They may even avoid talking or thinking about the event
Feeling numb
Survivors may find it hard to express their feelings. Or, they may not be interested in activities they used to enjoy. This is another way to avoid memories.
Feeling keyed up (also called hyperarousal)
Survivors may be jittery or always alert and on the lookout for danger. This is known as hyperarousal
Other Diagnosable Disorders
Other diagnosable psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety, may occur independently of distress or PTSD. Practitioners should recognize the symptoms of these disorders and refer to therapy or counseling as needed.
Common Responses
Survivors may feel they should be able to “get over it” on their own
Survivors may feel guilty about what happened and may mistakenly believe that they were to blame or deserved the pain and hurt
Survivors may feel the experience is too personal, painful, or embarrassing to discuss
Survivors may avoid talking about things related to the trauma event
A trauma event may foster beliefs that “the world is a dangerous place” and result in a survivor's general distrust of others
People who experience trauma may not connect their psychological reaction to the trauma event. This is particularly true if trauma is “reawakened” or triggered by something that reminds the survivor of the trauma event.
University of Colorado Boulder Office of Victim Assistance
How to Help Trauma Survivors
https://www.colorado.edu/ova/how-help-trauma-survivors
Understanding Fight, Flight, Freeze and the Fawn Response
Flight
running or fleeing the situation
Fight
become aggressive
Feeze
to literally become incapable of moving or making a choice
Fawn
immediately moving to try to please a person to avoid any conflict
Trying to avoid hurt by giving them what they want
Common with childhood trauma, where a parent or a significant authority figure is the abuser