If you’ve gone through a traumatic experience, you may be struggling with painful emotions, frightening memories, or a sense of constant danger that you just can’t kick. Or you may feel numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people. But you can overcome trauma’s paralyzing hold on your present life. With treatment and support, you can heal and move on from psychological and emotional trauma, putting it in the past where it belongs.
What is emotional or psychological trauma?
Trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless and vulnerable in a dangerous world. Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling frightened and alone can be traumatic, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. Experiences involving betrayal, verbal abuse, or any major loss can be just as traumatizing as a life-threatening catastrophe, especially when they happen during childhood.
Whether the threat is physical or psychological, trauma results when an experience is so overwhelming that you freeze, go numb, or disconnect from what’s happening. While this automatic response protects you from the terror you feel, it also prevents you from moving on. Despite being cut off from your trauma-related feelings, you can’t escape them completely. They remain outside of conscious awareness in all their original intensity, influencing the way you see the world, react to everyday situations, and relate to others.
Recovering from a traumatic event takes time, and everyone heals at his or her own pace. But if months have passed and your symptoms aren’t letting up, you may be experiencing emotional or psychological trauma.
When to seek professional help
It’s a good idea to seek professional help from a therapist or doctor if you’re:
- Having problems at home or work
- Living in constant fear and anxiety
- Haunted by overwhelming memories or emotions
- Avoiding more and more things that remind you of the trauma
Extracted from Emotional and Psychological Trauma