As we look back to Mental Health Awareness Month in May, let’s discuss the topic of trauma. The word trauma is a heavy word that often gets misunderstood. It’s also a word that gets used a lot in recent years as it has become more accepted to talk openly about traumatic experiences. So, what is trauma? What does trauma look like? How can we take care of ourselves and others if we’ve experienced trauma?
What is trauma?
By definition, trauma simply means an injury or wound. What we will be discussing here is psychological trauma, or a person’s emotional response to a terrible and disruptive event that overwhelms their ability to fully process it. These terrible events often challenge their view that the world is a safe, just, and predictable place. Instead, this creates a sense that bad things can happen at any time.
Trauma can be a one-time event, like a car accident, earthquake, or physical harm; or an ongoing series of harmful events, like war, abuse, or severe poverty. Trauma can also be a severe and sudden loss, like when a child’s parent dies, is imprisoned, or otherwise suddenly taken away.
What does trauma look like?
Since trauma is an emotional response, trauma is subjective, meaning there is no one way trauma looks, as each person may respond differently. A group of people who experience an earthquake have all experienced the same event and yet each one may experience their own unique response to that event. Some people can pick up and move on processing the experience relatively quickly, but others may experience trauma in a way that sticks around, disrupting their lives for years.
Trauma can look like being overly sensitive to threats, no matter what they are. Someone who has had experience in the military or in war, may react much more strongly to sudden loud noises, regardless if it’s something ordinary like a car engine or fireworks. A child who has suddenly lost their parent may stop talking, may have trouble learning or focusing in school, or may have trouble regulating or having wild swings in their emotions.
Trauma responses may leave lasting effects on how a person relates to other people and the world around them. They may stop doing things they once enjoyed doing because of how it makes them feel or how it may remind them of something bad that happened. They may have difficulties maintaining or building relationships with others, keeping employment, or completing their education. The good thing is we can seek help to work through and process the trauma, and develop tools to cope with these lasting effects.
How someone responds to terrible events is a result of many factors including age and lived experience, as well as ancestry or family history, gender, sexuality, and race. Being understanding that someone’s lived experience is different from yours may mean their response to terrible events will be different can allow you to care for someone better.
How do we take care of ourselves and others?
The first thing we can do to care for someone who has experienced or is experiencing trauma is to believe their experience as they describe it. No one can assume what another person is feeling or experiencing. Being believed and heard can help someone who may not fully understand why they’re feeling the way they are.
Empathy goes a long way. Empathy means that you can imagine what it feels like to experience what another person may be going through. We don’t need to have experienced or even fully understand the experience in order to care for someone or feel what they’re feeling. If someone has lost their home, we may not understand that exact experience. We can, however, recognize the feelings involved, such as loss, grief, anger, frustration, fear. These are all emotions that we have felt at some time in our lives. Empathy opens up connection to others and allows for care and healing to take place.
Finding help
If you have experienced a terrible event and noticed that you cannot quite seem to move forward from it -- the emotions of the event are still strong as if you’re reliving the event, you replay the event over often in your imagination, or it has resulted in a disruption to your daily life (eating, sleeping, going to work, socializing with friends and family) -- that is when seeking professional help may be necessary. A therapist can help you gain better understanding of what you’re feeling, recognize it, and start to heal from it. Here are some resources that can help:
- 988: State-wide and federally funded crisis line available 24/7/365; call, text, or chat online with a professional.
- Trans Lifeline: A non-profit peer support line for those who identify as trans or gender expansive. Call 877-565-8860 from anywhere in the US.
- California Warm Line: A peer support line for those looking for someone to talk to when experiencing life challenges. Call 855-600-WARM(9276) available at specific hours for California residents.
If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, please call 911 immediately.
Looking for more?
Here are some titles from our collection to better understand trauma and its effects.
TIROC Blog Series
TIROC stands for "trauma-informed and resilience-oriented care" and this blog is part of a series reflecting the library staff's efforts to embrace and apply trauma-informed and culture of care principles in our interactions with our customers, staff, and with ourselves. These blogs are not a replacement for mental health care, but may be used to help guide thoughts, feelings and coping skills. It is our hope that the tips and information we share provide value to your lives and are tools that you can have in your back pocket for years to come.
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