Trauma can have a significant impact on our emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. Survivors often experience oscillations between numbness and intense emotions such as fear, anger, or shame. Understanding these effects is crucial for healing.

Traumatic experiences can disrupt our fundamental beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world around us. In the aftermath, feelings of powerlessness may arise, and difficulties may arise in trusting others and perceiving the world as a safe place. Trauma can also leave the body in a heightened state of alertness, leading to chronic irritability, anger, headaches, hypertension, and other physiological issues.

Physiological Responses to Trauma

When a traumatic event occurs, our bodies react instinctively. The brain triggers the fight-or-flight response, releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This response prepares us to face danger, but when the threat is constant or unresolved, it can lead to chronic stress.

Prolonged exposure to stress hormones can disrupt bodily functions, resulting in various health issues. Survivors may experience:

• Chronic Pain: Many report unexplained physical pain that stems from the body’s response to trauma.
• Digestive Issues: Trauma can lead to gastrointestinal problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
• Sleep Disorders: Anxiety and hyperarousal can cause insomnia or disrupted sleep, leading to fatigue and irritability.
• Cardiovascular Problems: Elevated stress levels can increase blood pressure and heighten the risk of heart disease.

Long-lasting Responses

Notably, the responses to trauma can persist long after the actual event. Individuals may develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition characterized by recurring symptoms that can disrupt daily life. Symptoms may include:

• Hyperarousal: Survivors may remain in a heightened state of alertness, leading to irritability, difficulty concentrating, and exaggerated startle responses.
• Avoidance: Many individuals attempt to avoid reminders of the trauma, which can limit their daily activities and relationships.
• Emotional Numbness: Some may experience a disconnection from emotions or a sense of detachment from others.
• Intrusive Memories: Recurrent, involuntary memories of the traumatic event can trigger emotional and physical reactions.

These responses can occur months or even years after the traumatic event, making it critical for survivors to seek support.

Types of Trauma

It’s essential to recognize that trauma can arise from more than just a single catastrophic event. Various forms of trauma can significantly hinder emotional and psychological growth, leading to lasting impacts if left unaddressed. Some key types include:

• Sexual Trauma: Unwanted sexual encounters profoundly impact mental health, leading to feelings of shame, guilt, and anxiety. Survivors often experience PTSD symptoms, hypervigilance and struggle with trust and intimacy in relationships. They may also face altered self-perception and sexual dysfunction.
• Chronic Emotional Neglect: Emotional neglect is a subtle form of trauma where emotional needs are overlooked or invalidated. This can occur in marriages, romantic relationships, or between key attachment figures. It can be particularly difficult to detect because it often happens in contexts that meet basic physical needs but lack emotional connection and validation. Even in financially resourceful relationships, individuals—whether children or spouses—may feel invisible, unsupported, and unvalued.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): These include long-term emotional or physical abuse, school bullying, experiencing discrimination (such as racial or LGBT discrimination), growing up in high-conflict parental relationships, enduring family dysfunction, parental substance abuse, parental mental illness, separation or divorce, sudden losses (such as family or friends, financial security, social status) and experiencing health disabilities.
• Witnessing Domestic Violence
• Life-threatening Situations: Events such as natural disasters, severe accidents, or near-death experiences.

Long-term Effects of Trauma

Over time, both obvious and subtle adverse traumatic experiences can increase the likelihood of mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. These experiences can complicate emotional regulation, disrupt attachment styles, and diminish the capacity to trust others.

Individuals may find it challenging to form healthy relationships, set boundaries, or engage in intimacy due to the lasting impact of trauma. Understanding these dynamics is key to addressing their effects.

Healing from Trauma

Healing from trauma is a complex journey that requires patience and support. Mindology’s trauma-informed counsellors are here to support you. With compassion and expertise, we provide evidence-based therapy tailored to your unique needs. Whether you are confronting acute trauma or the lasting effects of emotional neglect, we are dedicated to guiding you on your healing journey, helping you reconnect with yourself, and restoring a sense of safety, trust, and meaning in your life.