What is psychological trauma?
Psychological trauma is a mind and psychological damage that occurs as a result of a distressing event. Trauma is often the result of an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one’s ability to cope, or integrate the emotions involved with that experience, causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and their ability to feel the full range of emotions and experiences.
Trauma may result from a unique distressing experience, or recurring events of being overwhelmed that can be precipitated in weeks, years, or even decades as the person struggles to cope with the immediate circumstances, eventually leading to serious, long-term negative consequences.
A World Mental Health survey conducted by the World Health Organization found that at least a third of the more than 125,000 people surveyed in 26 different countries had experienced trauma. That number rose to 70% when the group was limited to people experiencing core disorders, as defined by the DSM-IV (the classification found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition). But those numbers are just for instances that have been reported; the actual number is probably much, much higher.
While there are no objective criteria to evaluate which events will cause post-trauma symptoms, circumstances typically involve the loss of control, betrayal, abuse of power, helplessness, pain, confusion, and loss.
Traumatic situations that cause post-trauma symptoms vary quite dramatically from person to person. Indeed, it is very subjective, and it is essential to bear in mind that it is defined more by its response than its trigger
Which are the common symptoms?
Response to a traumatic event varies significantly among people, but there are some basic, common symptoms.
Emotional signs include:
- sadness
- anger
- denial
- fear
- shame
These may lead to:
- nightmares
- insomnia
- difficulty with relationships
- emotional outbursts
Common physical symptoms:
- nausea
- dizziness
- altered sleep patterns
- changes in appetite
- headaches
- gastrointestinal problems
Psychological disorders may include:
- PTSD ( Post-traumatic stress disorder)
- depression
- anxiety
- dissociative disorder
- substance abuse problems
When the symptoms last more than a month and seriously affect the person’s ability to function, the person may have PTSD. Some people with PTSD don’t show signs for months after the event itself. And some people deal with PTSD symptoms of a traumatic experience for the rest of their life. Symptoms of PTSD can escalate to panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts and feelings, drug abuse, feelings of being isolated, and not being able to complete daily tasks.
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How do we treat trauma?
A wide range of effective psychotherapies exists, and access to them is widespread. Trauma survivors are best served by working with a psychotherapist or treatment that is trauma-focused. Most trauma therapists will employ a combination of therapy modalities.
Psychotherapy alternatives include exposure therapies, like Virtual Reality Therapy to help with desensitization.
Virtual Reality Therapy
One of the most innovative therapeutic solutions for disorders like anxiety and panic attacks is virtual therapy. Virtual therapies ensure healing and improvement for the most diverse diseases, through innovative technologies based on virtual reality. Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) uses applications and programs of visual immersion with the help of artificially created environments to provide the patient with a safe and comfortable environment where different past experiences are simulated. Hence, patients can treat specific conditions.
Together with virtual reality therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps change negative thoughts and behavior.
And last but not least, many people use medications – primarily antidepressants and anxiolytic medications – which can make symptoms less intense and more manageable
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The way we interpret or think about a particular situation determines the feeling we have about that situation, which...
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Psychiatric treatment
The combination of psychotherapy and drug therapy is sometimes the ideal solution in addressing conditions such as depression, anxiety,...
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Brief Strategic Therapy
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Integrative Therapy
A more flexible and sophisticated approach than traditional psychotherapy, a progressive form of psychotherapy, customized ...
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We combine different psychotherapeutic solutions to map the exact source and the way of how each symptom manifests.
ID Therapy team innovatively combines those types of therapy to provide a shortcut to the solution and to have a diagnose directly into the context.
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Anxiety, Couple therapy, Depression, Fear of flight, Fear of public speaking, Insomnia, Panic attacks, Phobias, Psychological trauma, Stress
Raina Saguna
Addiction-treatment, Alcohol dependence, Anxiety, Bipolar disorder, Depression, Eating Disorders, Insomnia, Panic attacks, Personality disorder treatment, Smoking dependence, Stress
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