Types of Psychological Trauma

Psychological trauma occurs when damage to the mind occurs due to a distressing event in which the individual has not been able to manage the stress that it has caused and integrate the emotions experienced in said experience. In this PsychologyFor article, we are going to explain what causes psychological trauma, what types exist and how to overcome them. If you want to know what the types of trauma are, keep reading. Next, we will see the 8 types of psychological trauma.

What are psychological traumas?

Psychological traumas are caused by a situation that occurs suddenly or unexpectedly, in which the individual does not have the capacity to manage the problem, causing it to disturb him. In this way, the individual will present confusion about his or her emotions, feeling bad and, subsequently, creating resistance to such situations, even avoiding experiencing something similar again.

Psychological traumas are emotional aftermath left by an experience that caused immense pain and suffering to the individual. Such an experience can affect behavior, thinking and feeling, thus, the individual does anything to avoid reliving and remembering what caused the trauma.

Trauma is understood as something that had its origin externally, that is, in an external event, but that has repercussions on an internal level, which is the level of psychic functioning. In the following article, you will find more information about what psychological trauma is.

Causes of psychological trauma

Most people consider trauma to be generated by situations in which someone’s life is being threatened such as a car accident, a robbery, sexual violence, the death of a loved one, among other things.

Traumas are triggered according to the situation experienced by the individual. When a person experiences a traumatic situation, your brain goes into shock and thus psychological trauma occurs.

Although there are other forms of onset and causes of psychological traumas, the greatest are those caused by loved ones, because one never expects to receive abuse or betrayal of someone who has trust and love.

Those who experience trauma generally feel guilt, shame, irritability, insomnia, nightmares, fear, anxiety, nervousness and confusion.

Types of psychological trauma depending on the type of situation

What types of psychological trauma exist? Psychological traumas can be related to childhood, grief, natural disasters, accidents, abuse, wars, relationships and their breakups, physical and psychological abuse. Next we are going to detail the main types of traumas:

1. Childhood traumas

It is in childhood that many of our experiences are consolidated and are part of our training and reference. These experiences are responsible for forming the personality of the individual, their way of feeling and acting. Because of this, trauma in childhood has enormous weight throughout life. Some examples of traumatic experiences for a child are:

• Sexual, physical and emotional abuse
• Physical and emotional neglect
• Living in a home where abuse and violence occur
• Living in a home where substance abuse occurs
• Parental separation or divorce

In the following article, you will find more information about child abuse: types, causes, consequences and prevention.

2. Trauma due to sexual abuse

It is a trauma that can occur in childhood or adulthood. Some examples are:

• Rape
• Attempted rape
• Sexual violence
• Incest
• Child sexual abuse

Here we explain the Difference between abuse, rape, harassment and sexual assault. It is a terrible experience and very difficult to overcome. The victim wants to erase it from her memory, which makes the solution to the problem even more complex. In addition to the trauma, the person may develop a dissociative disorder in some cases. In the following article, we explain the Symptoms of sexual abuse in childhood.

3. Trauma due to physical and psychological abuse

It is a physical and psychological trauma when violence is exerted on the individual. Some examples are:

• Beating
• Hits
• Torture
• Confinement
• Bullying

That violence can be physical or psychological, in both cases it refers to abuse. In addition to the physical damage caused by the violence exerted on the victim, the psychological damage related to both physical abuse and verbal abuse results in serious emotional damage. Feelings of fear, anxiety and low self-esteem often arise in these situations.

In the following articles, you will find more information about the types of violence and the consequences of psychological abuse.

4. Natural traumas

These are situations where there is no intention, but the individual’s life is put at risk. Some examples are:

• Car accident
• Fires
• Hurricane
• Earthquake
• Floods

5. Interpersonal traumas

They are traumatic events that cannot be foreseen, put life at risk and are caused by humans. Some examples are:

• Heists
• Kidnappings
• terrorist actions
• be hostage

Types of psychological trauma depending on the duration of the situation

In psychology, there is a classification for the types of trauma based on the characteristics, duration and repetition of the situations that cause the trauma. In addition to the types explained above, which are classified according to the characteristics of the situation, they can also be classified based on duration. Next, we will see the types of psychological traumas depending on the duration of the situation:

• Type I trauma: referring to specific life situations in which events occurred that produced a strong impact on the individual’s life.
• Type II trauma: refers to situations that occur in a short time and have a longer duration.
• Type III trauma: refers to repeated situations in childhood that affect the individual with their long-term effects. When anxiety or fear has been repeated for a prolonged period of time, we refer to a complex trauma. In the following article, you will find more information about Complex Trauma: what it is, symptoms, criteria and treatment.

How to overcome psychological trauma

The psychotherapy It is the most effective treatment in cases of psychological trauma. Well, it is during psychotherapy that the individual will have the appropriate space to normalize feelings and emotions, in addition to the psychologist providing help to process and work through the trauma, offering tools and developing the necessary skills to face the problem. Some therapeutic techniques can also help in overcoming trauma:

• He brainspotting It is a psychological therapy that aims to treat human suffering in a deep and transformative way. One of its objectives is the treatment of trauma, relieving the weight of excessive emotions, healing the wounds of the person’s history.
• The techniques of mindfulness They can also be an option, as the individual will do mental exercises to combat the impact of the trauma. It is a type of meditation that helps the person with their discomfort. In this article we explain what mindfulness is and how it is practiced.
• The eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, also known as the EMDR technique, is a widely used technique to help cases of post-traumatic stress. It is a technique that stimulates the cerebral hemispheres through visual stimulation or sounds in the ears. It also works with smells, thoughts, images and sensations related to the traumatic event. In this way, the individual can give new meaning to what happened.

On some occasions it may be necessary to use drugs, generally to control secondary symptoms, although in these cases it is always essential to see a doctor.

In the following article, we talk about How to overcome psychological trauma.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of psychological trauma we recommend that you enter our Clinical Psychology category.

Bibliography

• Spanish Brainspotting Association. (2021). What is Brainspotting? Recovered from: https://brainspotting.com.es/
• Top Doctors Spain. (2021). Psychological trauma. Recovered from: https://www.topdoctors.es/diccionario-medico/trauma-psicologico#
• Psychotherapists.com. Trauma and its psychological effects. (2016). Retrieved from: http://www.psicoterapeutas.com/pacientes/Trauma.html