Trauma

Trauma is when we experience very stressful, frightening or distressing events that are difficult to cope with or out of our control. It could be one incident, or an ongoing event that happens over a long period of time.

Most of us will experience an event in our lives that could be considered traumatic. But we won’t all be affected the same way. Trauma can happen at any age. And it can affect us at any time, including a long time after the event has happened.

• One-off or ongoing events
• Being directly harmed or neglected
• Witnessing harm to someone else
• Living in a traumatic atmosphere
• Being affected by trauma in a family or community, including trauma that has happened before you were born

You might experience:

• Short-term: Shock, denial, or confusion.
• Long-term: Flashbacks, emotional changes, physical symptoms (like headaches), panic attacks, trouble sleeping, alcohol or substance use, trouble in relationships, self-harming or suicidal thoughts, mental health problems.
• Feelings: Anger, numbness or difficulty feeling any strong emotions, scared or panicked, grief, worried. Irritable, confused, restless, unsure of what you need or want, hyper-vigilance (which is when you are very alert and aware of your surroundings because you feel something bad might happen), shock or horror, shame.

• Talk about it when ready. Sharing your feelings with someone you trust can help you process what happened.
• Respect your own space. Give yourself time to feel safe again. It’s okay to set boundaries with others.
• Be patient with yourself. Healing takes time. You don’t need to have all the answers right away.
• Focus on small routines. Doing simple tasks like cooking, organizing, journaling or even just focusing on your breathing can help you feel grounded.
• Explore professional help. Therapists and counselors are trained to support you through these challenges.