Trauma/PTSD

Trauma

What is trauma? Trauma is an emotional shock following a stressful event or injury, something that our brains have no prior experience dealing with. That is why trauma is always personal and individualized. The word “trauma” is a broad, complex definition, it can come in all shapes and sizes. It can be experienced over a variety of different times, whether its days, months or years or a single event, such as a car accident. Both types can cause symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

For example, a racecar driver has different experiences with car accidents than a general civilian. The racecar driver’s brain is accustomed to the sound of the crunch, the shattering glass, the smell of burning oil. They have had scrapes, burns or maybe even a broken bone, however, their brain is familiar with the experience and knows that they have survived those experiences. The result is the racecar driver has dramatically less risk for trauma from another car accident. They have developed unconscious coping strategies with their experiences.

On the other hand, a person who has been driving most of their lives without a single accident is much different. If this person gets into a bad car accident that may result in not only physical injury but also emotional injury, and they may develop a symptom of anxiety when they return to driving. Anxiety is expected the first couple of times after the accident until our brains and bodies realize they’re safe again. However, if these symptoms persist into chronic anxiety that causes this person to develop an avoidance of driving, this is a sign of PTSD. PTSD is not a sign of weakness, it’s a hypervigilant biological response to keep us safe from potential future trauma. However, when this alarm system keeps going off when it doesn’t need to, it causes problems in our lives. This is where, through therapy, we can retrain our brains to calm this overactive alarm.