What Is Trauma And How Does It Influence Our Lives?
Trauma is a reality in our lives something much more frequent and common than it may seem. Its etymological root comes from Greek, and means “wound.”
Traditionally, it is considered as the consequence derived from an event, which generates psychological or physical disorders that affect the level of quality of our lives. However, trauma is not a life sentence.
Emotional trauma is a “psychological wound” which can be caused by diverse situations, generally extraordinary, disturbing, overwhelming and disturbing, that go beyond the usual experiences.
These highly stressful situations would range from major natural disasters, wars, accidents, abuses…, “serious threats to life or physical integrity, real threats or harm to children, spouse, family, friends; sudden destruction of home, community; witnessing the death or serious injury of another person as a result of an accident or an act of physical violence” (DSM-5).
Also can encompass experiences of apparently lesser significance such as: an operation, a fall, a punishment, serious illnesses, lack of protection, humiliations, change of roles in the family, migration to another city or country… which can also be experienced in a traumatic way.
In fact, it is not so much the dimension of the event itself that determines the damage caused, but rather its effects will also depend on each person, their history and emotional environment, the evolutionary moment in which it occurred. and its reiteration over time.
On the other hand, it must be taken into account that The appearance of trauma may also be favored by the consumption of substances with psychoactive effects. However, in the event that the consumption of these products is due to following a pharmacological treatment supervised by doctors, the probabilities of this occurring are very low, and in these cases professional help is available that can prevent the development of complications early.
The effects of trauma
Trauma, regardless of its origin, affects the health, safety and well-being of the person in such a way that it can lead to develop false and destructive beliefs about herself and the world around her.
In general, it is considered normal that we react to certain events with sadness, anxiety, anger, irritability, altered behavior, substance use… for a short period of time (Reijneveld, Crone, Verlhust & Verloove-Vanhorick, 2003 , Dyregrow and Yule, 2006). However, sometimes these difficulties become so intense and long-lasting that they cause serious problems in personal functioning and psychosocial adaptation.
To account for these more intense and harmful phenomena, the WHO classification (ICD-10, 1992) proposes a category of disorders caused by stress and trauma, which includes Acute and Chronic PTSD, Mood Disorders, Adaptation and Lasting Personality Changes after a catastrophic situation.
In these different psychological disorders, trauma is expressed in different ways, but in all of them episodes of extreme stress and dissociation are usually involved to a greater or lesser extent.
Blocked memories
It must be taken into account that We are not always able to remember everything that has happened to us. Throughout our lives, sometimes memories about traumatic events remain forgotten or fragmented.
According to the psychological current born with psychoanalysis these are dissociative phenomena that make it impossible to remember what happened, which arise as a defense mechanism developed by our psyche, which provides us with a natural protective response to the overwhelming traumatic experience, allowing us to move forward to survive (Kisiel and Lyons, 2001). According to these hypotheses, the memory would not be lost, but rather remains in the memory in a latent and inaccessible form, until, thanks to a therapeutic process or some event in the subject’s life, they are spontaneously recovered partially or completely ( AL Manzanero and M. Recio, 2012).
The consideration that there is such a strong impact that it causes changes in personality is of great importance for the study of the person and their emotional development, since adverse situations, close and daily, can not only determine psychological symptoms and alterations, but they come to compromise the complete development of the personality.
Post-traumatic reactions in childhood and adolescence can be expressed in different psychopathological forms (Copeland, Keeller, Angold & Costello et al., 2007).
Various studies on situations of abuse in childhood determined that The main psychological consequences of trauma were : depression, anxiety, self-hatred, difficulty modulating anger, dissociation, dullness, difficulties in attention and concentration, difficulty in impulse control, substance abuse, self-harming and risky behaviors, submission and dependence, strong sense of vulnerability and danger (Herman, 1992); revictimization, interpersonal and intimate relationship problems, somatization and medical problems, loss of trust in other people, feelings of helplessness and helplessness, traumatic sexualization, feelings of shame and guilt (Finkelhor, 1988).
These people present a great hopelessness about the world and the future they believe that they will not find anyone who understands them or their suffering, maintaining a great internal conflict, with high levels of anguish. The positive comes when they try to find someone to help them recover from their distress, their somatic worries, and their sense of despair or hopelessness. (Amor, Echeburúa, Corral, Sarasua and Zubizarreta, 2001).
Characteristics of psychic wounds
Scientific research on trauma affirms that expressing one’s feelings and intense emotional states in a cathartic way allows one to face difficult situations, reducing the likelihood of obsessive ruminations arising and physiological activity increases (Penneba and Susman, 1988).
Furthermore, it has been seen that social support, such as talking to a family member or friend about a problem, is one of the best valued mechanisms for coping with difficult emotional situations (Folkman et al., 1986; Vázquez and Ring, 1992, 1996), in addition to cushioning the stress itself (Barrera, 1988). In fact, the lack of close people to trust in complicated circumstances radically increases the risk of depressive episodes in vulnerable people (Brown & Harris, 1978).
The importance of attitude and mentality
People with an optimistic attitude seem to better manage the symptoms of physical illnesses such as cancer, chronic illnesses, cardiac surgery… (Scheier and Carver, 1992), which seems to be due to the fact that the strategies used by these people tend to be being more focused on the problem, seeking social support and finding the positive sides of the stressful experience.
On the contrary, pessimistic people are characterized by the use of denial and distancing themselves from the stressor, focusing more on the negative feelings produced by that situation (Avía and Vázquez, 1998). Thus, a personality pattern is drawn more clearly with a tendency towards good health that is characterized by optimism, a feeling of control and a good capacity to adapt (Taylor, 1991).
The treatment
Carry out activities from Art Therapy as a space for processing the traumatic event, favors recovery, facilitates social reintegration and therapeutic rehabilitation through a creative process.
These types of techniques promote the expression of one’s own feelings from a different language that allows one to channel sensations, emotions and memories. without pushing towards catharsis or emotional overflow offering a new expressive way that escapes resistance and verbal blockage, favoring memory and the construction of a coherent story that makes it possible to understand what happened. This will allow the victim to integrate her experience, from a safe environment free of judgment (“Papers of art therapy and artistic education for social inclusion”, Mónica Cury Abril, 2007).
Thus, trauma does not have to be a life sentence. During the healing process, a renewing evolution can be generated, capable of improving our quality of life, becoming an experience of transformation and metamorphosis (Peter A. Levine, 1997).
The capacity that we human beings have to forgive, to put ourselves back together, to move forward, to prosper, to enlighten ourselves, to overcome trials and events, to rise and re-emerge with a triumphant smile as we rediscover our identity, with love… is spectacular and simply admirable.
