What is Trauma?
- Dena Bradford
- Feb 15
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 19
The word trauma is from the Greek culture, and in the most straightforward translation, trauma means a wound. Imagine a physical wound being an external cut that happens to the body.
now, let's turn that cut inward.....
Psychological trauma happens within the body.
If you Google the term trauma, you may find an array of definitions; you might even find that some people break down trauma into big "T" trauma and little "t" trauma. The explanations might look a little like this:
Big "T" Trauma – You are driving down the road, and a car hits you from nowhere
Little "t" trauma – Two kids are at the store with mom, and they get separated for just a second. For one kid, it is the best moment of a little life, and the kid is independent. For the other kid, trauma has occurred.
These two examples are helpful to understand that not everyone who goes through what could be considered a traumatic event will have trauma.
However, if that event (small or large) has a lasting impact on how a person functions – that is trauma.
Trauma is an emotional response when something overwhelming happens to an individual that is beyond the control of that individual and has a lasting negative impact.
It is important to understand that trauma can be from a single event or ongoing situations or conditions.
While the term is often associated with severe situations, it is essential to recognize that trauma can arise from various experiences.
Trauma can stem from activities between people, from accidents, and our environment through acts of nature as well as:
Physical Trauma: Examples can include physical or sexual assault, broken bones, cancer, car accidents, tsunamis, and/or famine.
Social Trauma: Experiences of bullying, loss of friendships, divorce, and death of a family member.
Emotional Trauma: Experiences of neglect, abuse, witnessing violence.
Cognitive Trauma: These experiences impact the brain's ability to form or function normally and can be due to exposure to primary abuse (happening to the individual) or secondary abuse (witnessing)
A person can suffer trauma from witnessing, or hearing about a traumatic event that someone else was subjected to. Trauma does not always have to be a first hand wound.
Questions to reinforce learning:
Journal on an example of a "T" Trauma. What makes it a "T" Trauma?
Journal on an example of a little "t" Trauma. What makes it a "t" trauma?
What designates something as trauma? (hint: review bold words in the article).
If you try this exercise, and get hung up -- drop me a line and I'll try and help.
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