Information about psychological trauma
Usually emotional trauma is a result of a stressful event affecting a person psychologically. When a person undergoes a great deal of stress which is beyond their ability to cope with, it can lead to trauma. Sometimes trauma could be related to a single incident or it could be a cumulative effect of years of abuse or distress a person might have undergone.
Since each person has a different way of dealing with stress, their emotional trauma treatment tend to be different too. No two individuals react to a situation in the same way. While people who are sensitive are likely to be more affected sometimes they are quicker to get out of distress because they have an ability to cope with their emotions. Sometimes a person becomes so unaccustomed to dealing with their emotions that a distressing event might sent them completely over the edge.
Signs and Symptoms of trauma
- Once a person suffers from trauma, they might undergo the similar trauma again mentally. These incidences in a person’s life are known as triggers. These triggers can be potentially damaging for a person’s safety and can be very painful for those who experience it.
- In order to cope such a person might turn to alcohol or other drugs. They believe that these could help lessen their pain and help them take their stress better. Alcohol and drug dependence becomes common and it becomes a hard habit to break. Sometimes a person intoxicates themselves such a great deal that they lose their ability to think rationally.
- Trauma can also lead to anxiety. The person keeps replaying the situation in their mind and can actually feel it happening to them all over again. This could lead to social anxiety.
- Panic attacks become common as a result. Sometimes a person despite being in peaceful surroundings starts experiencing paranoia.
- Some people who experience trauma might undergo repressed memory where they may not have any recollection of the event but they can actually feel it somewhere at the back of their mind. This becomes even more disturbing because they have no idea of what is causing those strange emotions.
Treating emotional trauma
There are a number of approaches dealing with people suffering from emotional trauma. While some psychologists believe in cognitive behaviour therapy, there are those who might use a different approach. It all normally depends on what treatment plan may be better treated with a particular treatment.
Few basic processes for people undergoing therapy include:
- Psycho education wherein individuals are taught coping mechanisms
- Regulation of emotions. The psychologist would help an individual accept their issues and provide them guidelines of dealing with emotion in a positive manner.
- Cognitive therapy wherein the person is taught to channel their negative thoughts into more positive ones.
- Emotional and traumatic reprocessing. Both of these are part of the therapy when the person has become better accustomed at dealing with their anxiety and stress.