Trauma - Types & Disorder

Rigomo Team

Sun, 05 Oct 2025

Trauma is the response to a deeply distressing or perturbing event that overwhelms the individual’s ability to cope and causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self-worth, and their ability to feel emotions and experiences.

While there aren't any objective criteria to gauge that events can cause post-trauma symptoms, circumstances usually involve the loss of management, betrayal, abuse of power, helplessness, pain, and confusion.

The event needn't rise to the extent of war, or natural disaster, It could be a personal assault to have an effect on an individual deeply and alter their experiences. Traumatic things that cause post-trauma symptoms vary individually and quite dramatically from person to person. Indeed, it's subjective.

Not each traumatized person develops post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some individuals develop some symptoms like those who are more sensitive, it might take some weeks to develop symptoms. This is often known as acute stress disorder (ASD).

When the symptoms last over a month and seriously have an effect on the person’s ability to perform, the person could also be stricken by an anxiety disorder. Some individuals with anxiety disorder don’t show symptoms for months after the event itself. And a few individuals are affected by anxiety disorder symptoms of a traumatic experience for the remainder of their life. Symptoms of anxiety disorder will present as panic attacks, depression, self-destructive thoughts and feelings, drug abuse, feelings of being isolated, and not having the ability to finish daily tasks.

There is no magic treatment that may heal you overnight, and neither is there one kind of psychotherapy that's right for everybody, however, it is advisable to seek treatment whenever you face any such issues.

Healing is sort of a marathon. It needs preparation, recurrent observation, courage, determination, and also the support of others—including that of a health expert.

When trying to find an expert, it's very important to keep in mind that, the medical aid is being offered as a collaborator and not being imposed on you. Additionally, it's crucial that you simply feel safe in your therapeutic relationship.

Studies have found that people who actively participate in their medical aid gain more and get better quickly.

Treatments offered for PTSD

1.    Pharmacotherapy is the use of medicines to manage highly troubled trauma reactions. Medications are shown to be useful with the following reactions/symptoms:

o   Intrusive symptoms

o   Hyperarousal

o   Emotional reactivity

o   Irritability

o   Depression

Taking medication doesn't mean trauma and associated pain will go after a single dose. Medications will slowly work till symptoms are less intense and manageable.

If you choose to use medications, consult a shrink and continue consulting a shrink for as long as you're taking the medications. Inform the shrink of how the medications are impacting you. Some medications have a few side effects that might not be tolerable to you, and a few individuals don't respond favorably to medications.

2.    BEHAVIOR medical aid

The most common type of behavior modification is exposure. In the desensitization technique, one is made to face one’s fears bit by bit. for example, the reminiscences of a traumatic event–without the dreaded consequence occurring. Often, this exposure ends up in the individual learning that the worry or negative feeling is unwarranted, which successively permits the worry to decrease.

§  Exposure therapy has been found to scale back anxiety and depression, improve social adjustment, and organize the trauma memory. There square measure varied kinds of exposure therapy:

o   Imaginal exposure: A person imagines the dreaded event as vividly as doable.

o   In vivo exposure: The exposure happens within the medical aid.

o   Systematic desensitization: The individual is exposed to in turn additional fear-inducing things. This exposure is paired with relaxation.

Exposure therapy could be an extremely effective treatment for posttraumatic stress (PTSD).

§  Another kind of behavior modification is Stress immunization coaching (SIT), also called relaxation coaching. Stress immunization coaching teaches people to manage stress and anxiety.

§  COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is grounded within the concept a person should correct and alter incorrect thoughts and increase information and skills. Common parts of psychological feature activity include:

o   Teaching people a way to breathe to manage anxiety and stress

o   Educating people on traditional reactions to trauma

Exposure therapy

Identifying and evaluating negative, incorrect, and irrational thoughts and substituting them with additional correct and fewer negative thoughts.

§  There is no guiding principle for psychotherapy. In general, a hypnotherapist guides the individual in medical aid into a hypnotic state, then engages the person in spoken communication or speaks to the person concerning bound key issues. Most hypnotherapists believe that the emotions and thoughts that a person comes into contact with whereas below mental state square measure crucial to healing.

§  PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPY

The goal of psychodynamic trauma therapy is to identify which phase of the traumatic response the individual is stuck in. Once this is discerned, the therapist can determine which aspects of the traumatic event interfere with the processing and integration of the trauma. Common elements of psychodynamic therapy include:

o   Taking the individual’s developmental history and childhood into account

o   Emphasizing on understanding the meaning of the trauma

o   Looking at how the trauma has impacted the individual’s sense of self and relationships, as well as what has been lost due to the traumatic event

§  GROUP THERAPY

There are a variety of different groups for trauma survivors. Some groups are led by therapists, others by peers. Some are educational, some focus on giving support, and other groups are therapeutic. Groups are most effective when they occur in addition to individual therapy. A trauma survivor needs to choose a group that is in line with where one is in the healing journey:

o   Safety/victim phase: Choose a group focused on self-care and coping skills.

o   Remembering and mourning/survivor phase: Pick a group focused on telling the trauma story.

o   Reconnection/thriver phase: Join a group that aims to create a connection with people.

o   Educational groups are appropriate during all phases.