Trauma
What is Trauma?
Human beings are incredibly complex. Scientific research and studies have shown us many things about how our bodies and brains work. When we experience an event which is emotionally painful it is in that moment the brain will decide if we are able to cope with it. If the brain decides that we are not, it will shut down a part of the brain to protect it. We can think of this rather like a website. When too many people try to access a website, or in short, when there is an overload of stimulation, a website will crash – the brain does a similar thing and will close a part of itself off. In times of stress, we find ways to survive. We have biological mechanisms in place which help us to do this; we can think quickly of ways to adapt to our situation, we can run, we can fight, we can stay very still and freeze or we can even find a part of us breaks.
The brain uses a filing system to organise our emotional memories and experiences. Ideally, the brain will take an event and file it away using different categories which it uses to organise e.g. ‘This was a party I enjoyed,’ will be filed in a different place to, ‘This food gave me an allergic reaction, as well as, ‘When I walk down this road, I get scared.’ Thoughts and emotions aid in working out how to file which experience where. When we experience trauma, and the website has crashes it means that that our filing system is no longer working properly.
When this happens, the brain is no longer able to process in the same way. Emotional experiences cannot be filed away and are left ‘hanging around’ so to speak. This means that the emotions we felt at the time of the traumatic experience can be felt any time, any place and without warning and out of context. We are left to cope with re-experiencing feelings from an event which has already happened in addition to having to manage the effect that this may have on our present life. In many cases, the trauma is even more difficult to process because it is ongoing and we are living it every day, in some shape or form. Trauma symptoms can present in many ways and, just like trauma, some are more obvious than others.
Symptoms of Trauma
• Flashbacks and or Nightmares
• Depression and or Anxiety
• Anger and Control Issues
• Panic attacks
• Headaches
• Eating disorders and or Addictions
• Over adapting to please
• Fear of conflict
• Issues of self confidence
• Attachment and relationship issues
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Self-harm
• Suicidal ideation
• Somatic illness
• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Other physical symptoms
When to seek treatment for trauma?
If you are reading this, it is possible that this word means something to you. It is a word used to describe an emotional response to a difficult event. Sometimes these responses as well as events are easy to identify. We know what has happened to us or perhaps we have been told what happened. Our lives have changed for no other reason than because of our emotional responses and/ or these difficult events. And sometimes, it’s not so easy to know for sure. Maybe we can’t remember, exactly. Or a part of us insists the experience was not significant. We convince ourselves that there is nothing wrong ¬– apart from the feeling that there are areas of our life where we feel we are pushing a large boulder up a hill and it just isn’t getting any easier and there are symptoms we cannot ignore.
The Role of Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Trauma
There are many different kinds oftrauma and it is treatable. Whether it be childhood, inter-generational, physical, emotional, cultural, racial or another type of trauma, the trauma needs to be processed. This includes trauma which is on-going. Using a combination of scientifically researched psychotherapeutic techniques I work you to reduce symptoms and manage the trauma so enabling a feeling of empowerment and sense of control in your mind, body and life.
Twisted Rose (2025) © Andy Farr. Used with permission. andyfarr.com