WHAT IS TRAUMA?
Trauma is a Greek word for an injury. So a psychological trauma is a kind of injury to the brain.
Traumatic 'events' or memories imprint onto the brain, and remain there, unprocessed and as if frozen in time..
The trauma resides more in the unconscious part of the brain (sub-cortex) i.e the non thinking part of the brain (neocortex). If trauma were to be in the thinking part of the brain then it would be possible just to think differently and the trauma be dealt with this way... Trauma is felt in the body, it can feel depressing, anxious or even like you're feeling empty or nothing.
Trauma can be thought about in many ways. One way I the explain trauma is in this analogy:
Imagine you drop a glass, the impact to the glass causes a trauma to the glass. It's not the impact that is the trauma, the trauma is how it leaves the glass. Trauma leaves the glass in fragments or 'parts', these parts are all different there is not one part that is the same. The glass has been changed forever by what happened to it.. but alas the glass can be fixed.
Luckily, the brain is not made of glass, it is more like a kind of dense, heavy (about 1.4kg) jelly which is capable of healing and recovering from trauma (known as neuro-plasticity). The brain is made up of 1-4 Quadrillion synaptic connections which is the equivalent to 1-4 olympic swimming pools filled with sand - each grain of represents a synapse!
Now when trauma occurs there may be protective barriers that unconsciously formed to prevent further trauma/protection from the pain occurring again in the future, these barriers can be in many forms from physical sensations, behaviours to personality traits. Think of a child that has a graze to their knee, they don't want you near it they protect the trauma on their knee. However, this is what needs the attention, with careful treatment and care, it trauma/graze can heal.
With the right therapies the trauma fragmentation's can be healed at a neurological level. Together, with my clients I work with the fragmented parts to start integrating them back together, aiding the healing process.
Fragmented parts can be thoughts, but are more often emotions, and physical sensations. We may get emotions that are hard to put into words, or they may be unexplained physical sensations. Memories are not made of words, more they are made up of from the senses of what happened:
It makes sense that flashbacks not only come in the form of 'pictures' in the mind, but also emotions, bodily sensations, smells and sounds.
Our response to these trauma memories are often protective. Naturally we don't want to feel the pain or re-experience the trauma. So we minimise or try and squash it down. We may do this through trying to think logically or use reason, we may try to avoid it through binging, food, exercise, watching TV shows or work.. These maybe helpful in the moment, but the effects of trauma return.
A trauma memory is like a file that is so big and upsetting it could not be filed away neatly at the time... Trauma may leave us feeling shut down, or the opposite leaving us hyper vigilant, or hyper-sensitive. With the right therapies you can achieve regulation and heal the effects of trauma.
Within mental health trauma has been pathologized and is categorised into trauma types:
Because of the DSMV there are many many more people with a diagnosis of PTSD and BPD. In reality it is much more realistic that people have experienced numerous childhood trauma/s meaning most people would more accurately fit CPTSD.
Traumatic 'events' or memories imprint onto the brain, and remain there, unprocessed and as if frozen in time..
The trauma resides more in the unconscious part of the brain (sub-cortex) i.e the non thinking part of the brain (neocortex). If trauma were to be in the thinking part of the brain then it would be possible just to think differently and the trauma be dealt with this way... Trauma is felt in the body, it can feel depressing, anxious or even like you're feeling empty or nothing.
Trauma can be thought about in many ways. One way I the explain trauma is in this analogy:
Imagine you drop a glass, the impact to the glass causes a trauma to the glass. It's not the impact that is the trauma, the trauma is how it leaves the glass. Trauma leaves the glass in fragments or 'parts', these parts are all different there is not one part that is the same. The glass has been changed forever by what happened to it.. but alas the glass can be fixed.
Luckily, the brain is not made of glass, it is more like a kind of dense, heavy (about 1.4kg) jelly which is capable of healing and recovering from trauma (known as neuro-plasticity). The brain is made up of 1-4 Quadrillion synaptic connections which is the equivalent to 1-4 olympic swimming pools filled with sand - each grain of represents a synapse!
Now when trauma occurs there may be protective barriers that unconsciously formed to prevent further trauma/protection from the pain occurring again in the future, these barriers can be in many forms from physical sensations, behaviours to personality traits. Think of a child that has a graze to their knee, they don't want you near it they protect the trauma on their knee. However, this is what needs the attention, with careful treatment and care, it trauma/graze can heal.
With the right therapies the trauma fragmentation's can be healed at a neurological level. Together, with my clients I work with the fragmented parts to start integrating them back together, aiding the healing process.
Fragmented parts can be thoughts, but are more often emotions, and physical sensations. We may get emotions that are hard to put into words, or they may be unexplained physical sensations. Memories are not made of words, more they are made up of from the senses of what happened:
- What happened to you?
- What did you see?
- What did you hear?
- What did you feel physically?
- What emotions did you feel?
- What did you smell?
- What did you taste?
It makes sense that flashbacks not only come in the form of 'pictures' in the mind, but also emotions, bodily sensations, smells and sounds.
Our response to these trauma memories are often protective. Naturally we don't want to feel the pain or re-experience the trauma. So we minimise or try and squash it down. We may do this through trying to think logically or use reason, we may try to avoid it through binging, food, exercise, watching TV shows or work.. These maybe helpful in the moment, but the effects of trauma return.
A trauma memory is like a file that is so big and upsetting it could not be filed away neatly at the time... Trauma may leave us feeling shut down, or the opposite leaving us hyper vigilant, or hyper-sensitive. With the right therapies you can achieve regulation and heal the effects of trauma.
Within mental health trauma has been pathologized and is categorised into trauma types:
- PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: This is when an event occurs and there are persisting symptoms 6 weeks after the event. E.g you are involved or are witness to a one off incident such as a car crash, or physical attack. PTSD is a diagnosis with the DSMV. Remember ever being in shock right after something has happened, PTSD can be like this but much further down the line. You may not feel there is a problem after the traumatic incident, but in time symptoms may start to occur..
- CPTSD or Developmental trauma: Often when there is trauma as a child, CPTSD (complex post traumatic stress) is formed. CPTSD is often down to more than one event, it is often a series of events (such as abuse/neglect) but not exclusively in childhood. There is also a theme of grief or loss that accompanies this type of trauma, there is something more personal about it. CPTSD although recognised amongst mental health professionals, it is not a diagnosis within the DSM-V (DSM-V is a diagnostic manual to come out of the pharmaceutical industry in the USA)
- BDP/ Borderline Personality Disorder: This is a harsh and very shaming diagnosis in my opinion. Ever person who I have met with this diagnosis has a history of trauma within childhood. These people display trauma symptoms, and display behaviours that can be 'challenging'. The challenging behaviours are trauma reactions, and protective parts of the personality. BPD is a diagnosis within the DSM-V, and in reality people who fit the diagnosis of BPD would also fit a CPTSD diagnosis if there was one..
Because of the DSMV there are many many more people with a diagnosis of PTSD and BPD. In reality it is much more realistic that people have experienced numerous childhood trauma/s meaning most people would more accurately fit CPTSD.
Trauma is not what happened to you, but the wound that's been caused because of what's happened to you.
