- [Narrator] Hey Psych2goers, welcome back.
What is trauma?
According to the American Psychological Association, APA,
trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event.
It's something that can take over anyone
who's been through an emotionally disturbing
or life-threatening experience.
Despite what many people think,
trauma isn't something that only people
who've been diagnosed with PTSD
or post traumatic stress disorder can have.
Living with trauma can affect you
well after a traumatic event or experience,
and can play a big part in how you move forward in life.
There are certain signs and behaviors
that are common in most people with trauma.
So, to help you become aware
of whether you're still struggling with a traumatic event,
here are five signs you're living with trauma.
Number one.
You're still emotionally affected.
Does the traumatic event you went through
still take a toll on you emotionally,
no matter how long ago it may have been?
How your trauma continues to affect you
depends on your experience
and it can vary from person to person.
Certain words in your conversations,
being in a certain place, or seeing particular objects
may trigger feelings or memories tied to your trauma.
In more severe cases,
you may find yourself feeling as though
you are reliving the incident.
These moments can be difficult to manage
and end up standing in the way of your healing and recovery.
So if you find that you're still emotionally impacted
by a traumatic event,
seeking help from a mental health professional,
or even turning to talk to someone
who's attentive and sympathetic
may help you deal with and navigate through how you feel.
Number two.
You avoid certain thoughts, feelings, and conversations.
Do you go out of your way to avoid certain thoughts,
feelings, and conversations
because you don't know how to deal with them?
Perhaps you find recalling certain events overwhelming,
or you can't bring yourself
to talk about a traumatic experience
or hear of any similar ones.
Avoidance is a natural reaction to trauma
and is often used as a method to cope with
or escape feelings that may be too overwhelming
or exhaustive to address.
In the face of what your mind views as dangerous,
your flight response may kick in,
causing you to steer clear of these unwanted
and uncomfortable triggers.
However, it's important to know that avoiding your trauma
is only a temporary solution
to push away your thoughts and feelings at the moment.
It doesn't guarantee that they won't pop up again.
Instead, avoidance may only prevent you
from coming to terms with your trauma,
which is important for you to be able to heal and move on.
At a more severe level,
avoidance can lead to unhealthy
and sometimes dangerous coping mechanisms
like substance abuse and excessive drinking.
Number three.
You feel disconnected from others.
Have you been feeling more and more isolated
from the people around you?
Because of your traumatic experience,
it can be difficult to find people who can relate to
and understand what you went through.
As a result, you might feel disconnected from others,
which may make you feel misunderstood,
different, or singled-out.
Sometimes, in order to avoid any unwanted reactions
from people who may not understand
why you feel the way you do,
you may even suppress your emotions
and purposefully hide how you feel.
However, even if you feel excluded and alone
because of what you went through,
it's likely that there are people out there
who've also been through something similar.
According to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing,
70% of adults in the US have experienced
some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives.
So if you're feeling isolated,
it may be helpful to reach out to some communities
or groups for support.
Number four.
You've become closed-off and distant in your relationships.
Are you always telling your friends and family
that you're fine, even though you're not?
Because traumatic events
are emotionally and mentally damaging,
they can be hard to talk about.
Even when others are willing to listen
and talk about how you're feeling,
it can still be difficult to take them up on their offer.
You may fear how they'll react,
have trouble putting your feelings into words,
or perhaps you just don't want to
deal with the painful feeling
of thinking back to the incident.
However, when you suppress or ignore how you feel,
you may just end up isolating yourself from your loved ones.
Similarly, the people around you may be unaware
of what you're going through and interpret your behavior
as annoyance, moodiness,
or assume that you're going through a hard time
because of other problems.
This can also create distance
and strain in your relationships,
making maintaining close friendships difficult.
And number five,
you had negative shifts in personality and thinking.
Do you feel like you won't amount to anything in the future?
Trauma can also have an impact on your overall personality
and ways of thinking,
whether it's experiencing a lower sense of self-esteem
or developing a more pessimistic
or cynical view of the world.
Your trauma can change your attitude and sensitivity
towards other people.
Perhaps you're more on guard when you're around others,
or always expect the worst outcomes to occur
in every situation.
This tendency to always be cautious and suspicious of others
or to become aggressive when you feel threatened
can end up also impacting your ability
to form and maintain your relationships.
(sighs)
Did you find this video helpful?
How many signs did you relate to?
Let us know in the comments below.
Also be sure to like, subscribe,
and share this video with those who might benefit from it,
and don't forget to hit the notification bell icon
to get notified whenever Psych2Go posts a new video.
The references and studies used in this video
are added in the description below.
Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one.
(lighthearted music)