Psychological Trauma
The Nature of Trauma
Bad things happen to us in life. This is a given. But what makes for trauma?
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, one possible definition of trauma is “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury.” Some of these bad things stick with us – sometimes even years after they occur.
Experiencing trauma as a child has been shown to put us at greater risk for developing problems later in life such as substance abuse issues, risk-related behaviors, obesity, depression, heart disease, anxiety, and even early death. It’s like we are holding those bad things inside us and letting them continue to affect us.
In therapist terms, this untreated state is one in which this trauma has yet to be processed. Processing it out to where it no longer has this toxic effect is the purpose of therapy. Processing it means owning it – in a good way. Seeing it for what it is. It’s being able to truly say that “I am a survivor” rather than “I am a victim.”
Joseph Campbell famously said “where you stumble, there lies your treasure. The very cave you are afraid to enter turns out to be the source of what you’re looking for.” (This was from “Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion” by Diane K. Osbon, 1995, Harper Perennial, NY.). Trauma gets buried in our hearts because it’s painful, and when we start dredging it up it can make us afraid all over again. We stumble, and it takes a hero to pick ourselves up where we’ve fallen. But when we decide to deliberately shine a light upon that which we have kept hidden from our own sight, we become David as he draws five stones from the river ready to slay Goliath… or Luke Skywalker coming to terms with the fact that Darth Vader’s his dad… or Katniss Everdeen fighting for the truth even when the odds are not in her favor… Heroes are made of such stuff, and we can be this in our own lives. Heroes feel the fear and do it anyway. They are called to adventure in one way or another and are changed by it – ultimately coming out on the other side for the better.
Therapy is just such an adventure.
Adverse Childhood Experiences
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire is a great test you can take which helps to rate the severity of childhood trauma (psychological trauma you may have experienced between the time of your birth up to the age of 18). Here is a lot of good information on Adverse Childhood Experiences and their possible consequences from the Center from Disease Control and Prevention. Take the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire by clicking the button below!