Psychological trauma is Concept, causes, treatment and consequences

2024 Author: Curtis Blomfield | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 20:44

Psychological trauma is a process that occurs as a result of an abrupt and unforeseen occurrence of any action or event that harms the mental and mental state of a person. After a shock, a person remains sane and soberly assesses the reality around him. At certain intervals, he will be able to adapt to his permanent environment. Consequently, the changes that occur in the patient's psyche are not permanent, they can be eliminated over time.

Essence

The concept of "psychological trauma" includes problems that appear on the emotional level, in the functions of the brain that are responsible for the perception and formation of certain concepts. As a result, there are disorders at the neurotic level and changes in the borderline state of the psyche:

• there are various kinds of anxieties and phobias, fear;
• obsessive thoughts and actions appearoccur according to a certain ritual;
• Patient conditions such as hysteria, neurasthenia and depression may also occur.

Besides this, the pattern of behavior is changing, that is, the one that was learned in childhood remains, in an alternative to everything that is happening now at the present time. Distracted attention appears, apathy arises against an emotional background, it is the cause of an unstable emotional state at the psychological level.

Psychological trauma is weak, but constant factors that have constantly affected a person for some time, as well as sharp, sudden and unforeseen events of a categorically negative nature. They can cause a change in behavior in a person both in the family and in society, and also lead to illness on a mental level. Therefore, any powerful negative action that touches the emotional background of a person can cause this type of trauma on a psychological level.

Reasons

Psychological traumas are situations that arise in a person's life, contributing to the manifestation of stress in him, affecting his psychological state of he alth. There are quite a few reasons that can cause psychological trauma. The main ones are as follows:

1. Disasters of various nature, leading to a deterioration in the quality of human life.
2. Injuries that contribute to the development of dysfunctions of individual organs.
3. Professional injuries.
4. Violation of somatic he alth.
5. Attack by intruders.
6. Rape.
7. Death of relatives.
8. Divorce.
9. Family violence.
10. The presence of addictions in relatives.
11. Stay in places of detention.
12. Disability.
13. Stressful situations experienced in childhood.
14. Abrupt change of residence.
15. Loss of job.
16. Conflicts in important social groups for the individual.
17. The wrong way to raise a child, which contributes to the development of a sense of own uselessness in him.

Key development drivers:

1. Social.
2. Somatic.
3. Injury loss.

Man is a social being, the first social institution for him is the family. It is family violence that is the main factor in the development of psychological traumatism. Stressful situations experienced in childhood have a detrimental effect on the formation of the child's personality and the appearance of complexes in him. Also, acute post-traumatic stress disorder often arises due to the grief experienced by the loss of a loved one, due to his death or due to the breakup of a marriage.

Psychological traumas are shock situations that have a short-term effect on the human psyche and are mainly associated with the development of diseases of viral and infectious etiology and the appearance of anxiety for one's life.

Symptoms

Daily problems, various negative feelings and actions bringdysfunction in the normal functioning of the human body. As a result, the habits and behavior of a person completely change for the worse, his emotional he alth worsens. Symptoms of psychological trauma are on the sensory level and physiological. Emotional signs are:

1. Shock state, loss of faith in everything good.
2. Sudden mood changes, increased irritability and anger.
3. Self-flagellation, constantly replaying the same traumatic events in the head in order to find a way out of the situation.
4. Feelings of shame and feeling alone in the whole world.
5. Lack of faith in a bright future, heartbreaking longing.
6. Violation of attentiveness, increased degree of absent-mindedness.
7. Constant feeling of fear and unwillingness to communicate with others.

When a person completely changes his behavior in society, especially if he is a strong personality, rudeness appears in his habits, an inadequate reaction to ongoing events, it can be assumed that he suffered some kind of mental trauma. His mood often changes from infantile and depressive to hysterical. In some cases, anger appears with an increased degree of uncontrollable rage due to trauma on a psychological level.

A person cannot normally go about their usual business. His working capacity is changing, vital functions are deteriorating as a result of a feeling of constant fear and anxiety.

Physiological symptoms thatoccur after psychological trauma has been inflicted:

• violation of sleep, sometimes its complete absence, disturbing sleep, terrible events dream;
• heart palpitations, exacerbation of chronic diseases, state of fear and fearfulness;
• rapid loss of performance;
• absolute inattention, increased fussiness;
• pain, cramps, tension in all muscles of the body.

All these symptoms arose from the fact that he blames himself for what happened, for not being able to change the situation that happened. He constantly replays these events in his head and thinks about different situations, as a result of which the tragedy that happened could have been avoided.

Personality experiences heartbreaking melancholy and inevitable hopelessness. As a result, he stops talking and meeting with family and friends, does not go to the cinema or to meetings with friends. This state arises due to the fact that this person ceases to believe that in a difficult situation any of his friends or just a passerby can help.

In the soul there is a feeling of complete hopelessness, loneliness, hopelessness and meaninglessness of everything that happens around. These people have problems with sleep, they often dream of terrible situations, sleep lasts for short periods of time. These symptoms may disappear fairly soon, or they may last for years.

Views

What kind of psychological trauma in a person can be diagnosed independently:

1. Existential - injuries thataccompanies the fear of death and everything connected with it. The traumatized patient is faced with a choice: withdraw into himself or express psychological stability, become more resilient and courageous.
2. The trauma of loss (the death of loved ones) gives rise to a phobia of loneliness, and also forces any person to make a choice: focus on their own negative emotions and sorrows or try to discard them.
3. Relationship traumas (misconduct, divorce, betrayal, termination of relationships) cause a natural reaction - regret and anger, and also give a person a choice: never again trust or place hope in anyone, or try again to love and believe.
4. Injuries of irreparable acts (an immoral act) activate the feeling of guilt and put people before a choice: realize, accept and repent of their deed or not admit their guilt for what they have done.
5. Children's trauma. They are the strongest and brightest in terms of the degree of mental he alth impairment. Such a trauma leaves an unforgettable mark in the subconscious of the individual and affects his entire future life. It is also important that almost all people have psychological traumas received in childhood.
6. Cataclysms. Sometimes things happen in life that you can't control. Catastrophes, accidents, natural disasters, etc., inflict a great crushing blow on the whole organism. Due to unforeseen negative influences, the psyche suffers, countless fears and hesitations are born. All catastrophes lead to emotional trauma. When in front ofpeople something happens to other people, it is hardly possible to remain calm and indifferent. Most people are compassionate and compassionate. Empathy has the ability to reduce the negative impact of trauma and help overcome difficulty.

Also grouped into types, depending on their duration and how they caused psychological trauma:

• spicy;
• shock;
• protracted.

The first two types are characterized by short duration and spontaneity. But a protracted or long-term form of psychotrauma is much more serious, it is characterized by a steady influence on the nervous system of an individual who, due to specific factors, is doomed to experience oppression that causes irreversible damage to his he alth and quality of life.

Children and adolescent injuries

The question of the child's psyche is complex and ambiguous, since the causes of psychological trauma are individual, but one cannot ignore the fact that external factors have a huge influence on the "immature" inner world of a child or teenager: school, social circle, relationships in the family, etc. The main thing is to understand that a small person can be affected by an event that is insignificant for adults, but important for the child, and the emotions experienced by him at that moment.

Psychological trauma of childhood - an event that caused disharmony in the psyche of the child. This is a phenomenon that he repeatedly reproduces in his subconscious. Therefore, such circumstances lead to irreversible changes inhuman behavior and soul.

After a series of studies, scientists managed to find out what events morally “knock out” a child from their usual way of life. The most popular psychological trauma of adolescents and children:

1. Any violent action (moral or physical).
2. Loss of a loved one/pet.
3. Serious he alth problems.
4. Discord/divorce in the family.
5. Heated relationship between parents.
6. Indifference.
7. Treachery, lies and unreasonable punishment from loved ones.
8. Self-disappointment.
9. Immoral behavior of parents/friends.
10. Asocial social circle.
11. Overprotection.
12. Inconsistency in the actions of parents in matters of education.
13. Constant scandals.
14. Feeling alienated from society.
15. Conflict with peers.
16. Teaching bias.
17. Excessive physical and/or mental stress.

Unfortunately, children's psychological trauma is often caused by the parents themselves. This is due to the system of errors in education, which were "passed down" from generation to generation. A child with "mother's milk" learns all the "rules of life", which are reflected in his future destiny.

Intergenerational Understanding

"The word is not a sparrow", or How a child interprets a parent's phrase:

1. "I wish you weren't around"="If IIf I die, I will give my parents happiness and freedom." This program can lead to very tragic consequences.
2. "See what others can do, now look at yourself"="No one should know the real me. I should be like everyone else." The child learns to live in a "mask", hiding the true face in every possible way. He is the way he is, why change anything?
3. "That you are so small"="It doesn't matter what I want. The main thing is that my parents are happy." Suppressing his desires and needs in childhood, a person morally gets used to the role of a "slave", ready to kowtow to anyone who is spiritually stronger than him.
4. "No matter how old you are, you will always be our baby"="It seems too early for me to make my own decisions. Let others do it for me." The big mistake of parents is that they do not recognize the passage of time. The kid has grown up, so he can decide for himself.
5. "Stop dreaming!"="I haven't foreseen everything yet, but, apparently, it's time to act." Dreams allow us to consider one situation from different angles. Why interfere with it?
6. "Stop crying"="Don't express your emotions. People don't like it. Be indifferent." Man is not a robot. He must feel.
7. "You can't trust anyone"="The world is too deceitful." This phrase is dangerous. She makes you believe that being alone is wonderful and safe.

Results of childhood psychological trauma:

1. Child is difficult to socialize. He is afraid of change andnew team.
2. Manifestation of various phobias and disorders. Social phobia as a result of painful experiences from childhood. In addition, a person can constantly experience guilt and an inferiority complex, which necessarily develop into a severe form of depression and personality disorder.
3. Different forms of addiction. As a rule, people whose childhood was far from ideal turn into alcoholics, drug addicts, and gamers. Also, some of them find it difficult to control their appetite, which leads to obesity or anorexia.

We must not forget that the "foundation" of the personality is laid at a young age, therefore, mental disorders in adulthood come from childhood. Therefore, the task of parents is to protect the baby from the first psychological trauma after any unpleasant events.

Child needs help

To prevent a child from developing psychological trauma, parents should:

• Tip 1. Parents should study a lot of relevant psychological and pedagogical literature, choose the right tactics in educating the future generation.
• Tip 2. Getting rid of stereotypes and clichés. Every person is unique.
• Tip 3. Don't interfere with your child's development. This is his life. Let him do what makes him happy. The task of a parent is to support his child.
• Tip 4. Indifference is not an option. You need to be able to "be friends" with your child and take all his experiences seriously.
• Tip 5. With noticeable changes in behavior, do not expect magic. It is better to seek help from a psychologist. With its help, you can develop an individual program for competent recovery and personal development. Thus, the child will forever get rid of internal barriers, stereotypes and complexes. He will be happy.

Correction methods

Based on research by well-known scientists, two areas of correction of psychological trauma have been identified:

• treatment individually;
• treating a specific group of people at the same time.

Let's consider methods of recovery from stress disorders of several people at the same time. To do this, it is necessary to work with psychological trauma:

1. Create a safe environment for patients.
2. Reduce feelings of loneliness by creating common goals and helping each other.
3. Increase the level of trust in others, as a result, the self-esteem of each person in the group will increase.
4. Build confidence in your strengths and abilities.
5. Find out who's problems are, and based on them decide how to recover from injury.
6. Thanks to the interaction in the group, one victim can help another.
7. Take the problems of each member of the group as your own and find ways to solve them.
8. Chat with each other about your problems, common difficulties and just talk about neutral topics.
9. Increase confidence in a speedy recovery.

To achieve qualitythe result of this activity, the methods of this correction included:

1. Favorable conditions for hobbies, drawing, making applications, listening to music, going to theaters and museums.
2. Application of Socratic dialogue. To solve these problems faster and reveal the talents of each person, the use of appropriate metaphors was used.
3. Talk about your life and listen to the stories of each group member on the same topic. To find the positives, that is, to understand what was useful for each after receiving these traumatic results.

How to relieve symptoms of stress?

Common methods for removing symptoms of psychological stress:

1. A psychologist talks to a patient about a situation that caused psychological disturbances in the form of stress. The patient expresses all his experiences and at the same time receives approval and support from the doctor. Thanks to this therapy, a person in this state improves the emotional background. The situation that caused this situation is drawn on paper, or the patient writes a story to himself orally. These actions help direct all negative energy in a certain direction, create a form for it, and accordingly, it becomes possible to control the negative emotional background of a person.
2. The Shapiro method allows you to eliminate negative events from memory in a short time, due to which the patient's attitude to these events changes and the frequency of memories associated with the actions that led to it decreasesnegative state. The circumstances that led to the stressful situation introduced an imbalance into the body, as a result of which the nervous system was disturbed. This method reduces nervous tension, a sense of fear, the patient's attitude to frightening objects and that unfortunate situation, because of which everything happened. Psychological trauma in men and women disappears quickly enough.
3. The EVA method helps to change the patient's attitude to what happened and, accordingly, quickly remove him from a state of stress. The technique works on changing the perception of a person. It was developed by R. Dilts. After changing the person's attitude to what happened, negative memories are removed or the patient's attitude to these events is transformed.

Also, there are methods of treating childhood psychological trauma used by doctors in hospital departments:

1. The contradiction between the strengths and weaknesses of a person is removed, due to which a quick effect is achieved to eliminate stress. It is used for people who became participants in emergency situations, disasters.
2. Change in a person's attitude to an event. That is, the negative is forgotten, the positive sides are found, and the patient, relying on them, recovers faster. Find an incentive for which a person must overcome this stressful situation.

Thanks to these methods, each patient is given an individually suitable treatment, and the person will soon fully recover.

Treatment

In treatmentpsychological and emotional trauma, people experience unpleasant feelings and sensations that they wish to avoid. If this is not experienced, then they will disturb again. When treating an injury, the following happens:

1. Processing exciting memories and feelings.
2. Discharging the body during stress.
3. It becomes possible to regulate the emotions that have arisen.
4. The patient begins to build communication links.
5. The main points that disturb the psychological and emotional state are touched upon.

Full recovery will take a significant amount of time. Do not speed up the healing process, try to eliminate the symptoms and consequences. It will not be possible to speed up the process by volitional efforts, give vent to various feelings.

A few tips to help in a difficult situation:

1. Mutual assistance: don't lock yourself up. After an injury, a person can withdraw into himself and find himself alone. Being in a team will help speed up the healing process so as not to aggravate situations, it is better to maintain relationships with people. It is better to ask the patient to support him. The main thing is to talk about your feelings, and it is best to have conversations with those people whom he trusts. Take part in various activities. Do joint projects only if it is not related to the sources of injury. Set up interaction. Find people who have overcome such a test. Interacting with them will help reduce isolation and learn from the experience of overcoming such a state.
2. Feel the surrounding events. Being grounded meansto feel and understand reality, to keep in touch with oneself. Try to do simple things. Take time to relax and socialize. Divide emerging problems into sectors. Reward yourself for the smallest accomplishments. Find an activity that makes you feel better and keeps your mind busy so that you don't revisit the memories that caused the trauma.
3. Try to experience the feelings that arise due to trauma, accept and approve of their appearance. Think of them as part of the recovery process. Body grounding - ways of self-help. If you feel disorientation, confusion, sudden strong feelings, do the following: sit on a chair, press your feet on the floor, feel the tension. Press your buttocks on the chair, feel the support at this point. Lean your back against a chair. Look around and choose 6 objects of different colors, look at them - bring your attention from the inside out. Take a breath: Take a few slow deep breaths in and out.
4. Watch your well-being. In a he althy body, mental recovery is faster. Keep a sleep schedule. Psychological trauma can upset him. As a result, the course of traumatic symptoms worsens. Therefore, you need to go to bed every day before midnight so that the duration of sleep is 9 hours.
5. Alcohol and drugs should not be used because they always make symptoms worse, leading to depression, anxiety, isolation.
6. Go in for sports. Systematic trainingcontribute to the production of serotonin, endorphins and other substances. They increase self-esteem and improve the quality of sleep. To achieve a good result, you need to practice 1 hour a day.
7. Try to eat right. Eat small meals. This will keep your energy levels up and reduce mood swings. Try not to eat simple carbohydrates, because they change the composition of the blood and mood.
8. Reduce the impact of negative factors. Focus on rest and relaxation. Learn systems: meditation, yoga, breathing exercises. Make time for your favorite activities or outdoor activities.