26 Jun, 2024
Trauma is a complicated experience that affects many people worldwide.
At The For Baby’s Sake Trust, we are dedicated to understanding how trauma impacts family life and breaking the cycle of domestic abuse. Recognising the signs of trauma and finding ways to overcome it are important steps towards healing and recovery.
What Is a Traumatic Event?
A traumatic event is any experience that overwhelms your ability to cope. These events can be very different from each other, but they are usually unexpected, harmful, and not like the usual day-to-day experiences.
Examples of Traumatic Events:
- Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.
- Violence and Abuse: Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and witnessing abuse; bullying and harassment
- Discriminatory Abuse: Racism, homophobia, transphobia, gendered abuse, misogyny, disablism.
- Accidents: Serious car accidents, workplace injuries, or other sudden, severe incidents.
- Loss: The sudden death of a loved one or significant loss like job loss or financial loss.
- Medical Issues: Personal Diagnoses of life-threatening illnesses or severe medical interventions; close family friends diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses or requiring intensive care
Trauma can come from a single big event or from many small experiences. Ongoing bullying, chronic work stress, or being in a negative environment can add up over time and have the same emotional and psychological impact as a major traumatic event. It’s important to recognise and address this to understand the full impact of trauma on mental health and well-being.
How Do I Recognise Signs and Symptoms of Trauma?
Recognising trauma can be difficult because its signs and symptoms can vary and show up differently in different people. No two people will respond to an event in the same way either – and so it is important to consider signs and symptoms on an individual basis.
Here are some potential signs to watch out for.
Emotional Signs:
- Anxiety and Fear: Persistent feelings of anxiety, fear, and panic attacks.
- Depression: Ongoing sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy.
- Irritability and Anger: Unexplained anger, irritability, and mood swings.
Physical Signs:
- Exhaustion: Constant tiredness, even with adequate rest.
- Aches and Pains: Unexplained physical pain, such as headaches or stomach aches.
- Sleep Disturbances: Insomnia, nightmares, and restless sleep.
Cognitive Signs:
- Concentration Issues: Difficulty focusing, memory problems, and confusion.
- Intrusive Thoughts: Persistent, unwanted thoughts or flashbacks of the traumatic event.
Behavioural Signs:
- Avoidance: Avoiding places, people, or activities that are reminders of the traumatic event.
- Isolation: Withdrawing from friends, family, and social activities.
- Substance Abuse: Increased use of alcohol, drugs, or other substances to cope with the emotional pain.
Recognising these signs can help in identifying trauma and seeking appropriate help.
What Are the Signs of Trauma?
Understanding the signs of trauma can help with getting the right support. Trauma can affect an individual’s emotional, physical, cognitive, and behavioural states.
Emotional Impact:
- Hyperarousal: Being easily startled, feeling tense or “on edge”, and having difficulty relaxing.
- Emotional Numbness: Feeling detached from oneself and one’s surroundings, or a lack of emotional responsiveness.
Physical Symptoms:
- Somatic Complaints: Experiencing physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, and chronic pain without a clear medical cause.
- Changes in Appetite: Significant changes in eating habits, leading to weight loss or gain.
Cognitive Effects:
- Memory Problems: Difficulty recalling details of the traumatic event or other important information.
- Negative Thinking: Persistent negative thoughts about oneself, others, or the world.
Behavioural Changes:
- Risky Behaviours: Engaging in potentially harmful activities, such as reckless driving or unsafe sexual practices.
- Regression: Reverting to earlier stages of development, especially in children (e.g., bedwetting, thumb-sucking).
By recognising these signs, individuals and their support networks can take steps towards seeking help and addressing the trauma.
What is the Impact of Childhood Trauma?
Unresolved trauma creates symptoms instead of memories. To have a chance of understanding the person we are now, we need to understand who we were then, as a child.
Children who have suffered trauma need a different kind of parenting to help them “rewire” their “smoke detectors” and build new pathways in their brains. These children need parenting that is underpinned by empathy, nurture, clear boundaries, and natural consequences. This will enable them over a prolonged period to begin to link cause and effect and start to make attachments and trust adults again.
Standard parenting techniques may replicate early abuse, and many rely heavily on the child’s ability to self-regulate which is often unrealistic and crucially standardised “good parenting” doesn’t go far enough in healing the child. It assumes a basic level of security, empathy, resilience, and self-regulation that is simply not present in a traumatised child.
Traumatised children may overreact, be aggressive, over controlling, hypersensitive, have difficulty in sensing hunger, pain and have overwhelming shame and fear of abandonment that is often all consuming.
Safety is the springboard of family life and human development and the foundation of attachment theory. Without safety we would not have the opportunity to develop to maturity and reaching our potential would be greatly compromised as our brains do not function as well because when we feel unsafe, our priority is to feel safe again and that becomes our primary focus.
Establishing and maintaining a sense of being safe (along with actual safety itself) is the primary function of attachment figures. Once safety has been established, an infant is ready to begin to learn about the world and they are much more likely to accept and be influenced by parental guidance and rules, values, judgements, experiences, and intentions.
When a child experiences acute, intense fear, pain or abuse their sense of safety is greatly impaired and are at risk of developing a traumatic response which might create an associated psychological problem. Attachment security, whereby a child can achieve a sense of security or manage the pain or fear serves as the best protection against the development of a traumatic response as well as encouraging the quickest resolution of any traumatic response that might develop.
If any projected fears from the parents are absorbed by the child – “he will never be the same again” he will actually be at greater risk to “never be the same again” Following trauma children experience intense affective and physical dysregulation – screaming, shouting, repetitive movements and expressions and staying with them in a congruent way that matches this state will allow them to release the terror through movements and expressions – this is the process of co regulation whereby the child’s dysregulated state is assisted.
Once there has been some affective and physical mastery of a traumatic experience, cognitive mastery can develop with support from attachment figures.
How Can I Heal From Trauma?
Healing from trauma is a deeply personal process, but it is possible to make progress with the right support and strategies. Here are some steps that can help:
Seeking Professional Help:
- Therapy: Engaging with a therapist, especially one who specialises in trauma, can help. Types of therapy include cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), and trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy (TF-CBT).
- Support Groups: Joining support groups where individuals share similar experiences can provide comfort and understanding.
Building a Support System:
- Friends and Family: Leaning on trusted friends and family members for support can make a significant difference. Open communication about your experiences and needs is vital.
- Community Resources: Seeking help from local support groups, helplines, and non-profit organisations like The For Baby’s Sake Trust.
Self-Care and Coping Strategies:
- Mindfulness and Relaxation: Practising mindfulness, meditation, yoga and relaxation techniques to manage stress and anxiety.
- Healthy Lifestyle: Maintaining a balanced diet, regular exercise, and adequate sleep to support overall well-being.
- Creative Outlets: Engaging in creative activities like writing, art, or music can provide an emotional release and a way to process experiences.
Education and Understanding:
- Learning About Trauma: finding out more about trauma and its effects can provide helpful insights. Understanding that trauma is a normal response to abnormal events can be empowering and help you to feel less alone.
- Patience and Compassion: Being kind to yourself and recognising that healing takes time. Self-compassion is crucial in navigating this journey.
How Does The For Baby’s Sake Trust Support People Impacted by Trauma?
The For Baby’s Sake Trust is dedicated to supporting families affected by domestic abuse through:
Trauma-informed, Therapeutic Support:
- Therapeutic Practitioners work with parents from pregnancy until their baby is two to get to the root cause of domestic abuse.
Educational Resources:
- Providing information and resources about domestic abuse and trauma, their effects, and coping strategies.
Community Outreach and Campaigning:
- Working within our communities to raise awareness about domestic abuse and trauma, trauma and promoting supportive, healthy environments and relationships.
In conclusion
Trauma can have a big impact on someone’s life. It’s important to recognise signs of trauma and learn what can help you to heal. The For Baby’s Sake Trust is here to help every step of the way, with resources, education, and compassionate care.
