Trauma

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is “a disorder that develops in some people who have experiencing a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.” It’s very natural to feel afraid during a traumatic event, but some people carry those feelings over time, manifesting in the form of nightmares or unwanted memories, avoidance of situations that bring back memories of the trauma, anxiety, paranoia, agitation, depression, and more. Nearly 5.2 million people are estimated to experience PTSD in a given year. While symptoms of PTSD can affect work, school, and home life, they can worsen if adequate sleep is lost.

Many of us have become familiar with the causes of mental disorders – genetics, environmental factors, traumatic events, substance abuse problems and individual tendencies are a few of the most common ways to develop a mental disorder. Time Magazine has recently uncovered a rather unexpected, but understandable, concern for developing psychosis: mountain climbing. If you love adventure and plan to go hiking this spring, be weary of just how high you go. At an altitude of 27,000 feet, Jeremy Windsor was climbing Mt. Everest in 2008, and he began to experience some strange things. As stated on Time Magazine’s website, a man named Jimmy was providing Jeremy with words of encouragement and would then disappear amongst the snow. Also known as “third-man factor”, these hallucinations are found in high-altitude Alpine settings, and can quickly become dangerous if it causes a trekker to go off-route or engage in risky behaviors due to the hallucinations. Research is unclear exactly what leads to the development of psychosis during these higher altitudes; some believe it’s faith or religious-based, some believe it’s caused by biochemical reactions, yet others believe it to be “misfiring brain activity”. The discussion surrounding “third-man factor” hasn’t just been in relation to high altitudes, however. Stories exhibiting this have been shown in contexts such as war or terrorist attacks – this hallucination has been said to provide added comfort, guidance, and strength to a person in times of significant stress or life-threatening circumstances, according to the National Public Radio. Schizophrenia is often associated with delusions and hallucinations, but with “third-man factor”, the hallucinations disappear once the person has reached a lower altitude. Additionally, the psychosis experienced with mountain hiking and other extreme events have proven to aid, or provide support, to the person undergoing extreme stress – individuals with schizophrenia may become paranoid or may hallucinate that induce more stress and anxiety. Seek medical attention immediately if you are experiencing hallucinations in your daily life and you have not been diagnosed. For mental disorders such as schizophrenia, there are medications that can help you better manage daily life.

“Instead, it’s transformative. The trauma becomes a dividing line in survivor’s lives. They are different after the event. Sometimes that change is negative – the post-traumatic stress symptoms that have received so much attention. But the change doesn’t end there. Trauma survivors are often pushed by a brush with their own mortality, by the depth of their hardship or even the suffering of others, to find more meaningful and fulfilling ways of understanding who they are and how they want to live. They struggle, but they also change for the better.” Jim Rendon, author of an online book titled The New Science of Post-Traumatic Growth, provides a hopeful and encouraging aspect of post-trauma life. His book is focused on how post-traumatic growth propels us into self-improvement and success rather than destruction. While he addresses the pain and suffering caused by trauma, he aims to promote a more positive perspective for survivors to hold; one that can uplift and inspire. Lorna Collier, writer for The American Psychological Association, stated last year that resiliency and post-traumatic growth (PTG) are two separate entities. Resiliency is a person’s natural tendency or personal attribute to bounce back from challenging events. PTG, on the other hand, refers to someone who has difficulty bouncing back and experiencing a traumatic event that shakes their core psychologically and then ultimately finds a sense of personal growth. This process takes time, energy, and struggle – but it is possible and it’s worth it. The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, developed by Tedeschi and Calhoun in 1996, seeks positive responses in five principal areas:

Whether as a child or during adulthood, traumatic events in our lives can make the present and future seem distant, hopeless, frightening, and more. These events sometimes define who we are for the rest of our lives, or at least change the way we perceive ourselves and the world. Understanding the effects of trauma can help us feel more at ease with knowing how we are feeling, and could give us the potential to help someone else by knowing what they are going through. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network explains that when a child goes through a traumatic event, their body may experience rapid breathing or heart pounding, chronic physical complaints such as stomach aches or headaches, sensitivity to light, touch or sound, and more. Traumatic events or extreme stress can even cause a child’s body to shut down when presented with stressful situations. Emotionally, a child may have difficulty identifying, expressing, or understanding emotions, and may experience significant anger, depression, or anxiety. Dissociation is another response safety mechanism, in which the child may mentally separate themselves from a stressful situation. Adults can experience damaging effects of trauma as well – the American Psychological Association notes that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm was threatened. Physical assaults, natural or human-caused disasters such as terrorist attacks, motor vehicle accidents, rape, physical and sexual abuse, military combat and more are all cases that may induce PTSD. Dr. Lynn Margolies, psychologist and former Harvard Medical School fellow, describes for Psych Central that hyperarousal, intrusive memories or flashbacks, feeling numb or detached and being easily startled are just a few symptoms of PTSD. Help Guide provides several ways to help overcome the effects of trauma:

Post traumatic stress disorder and symptoms of trauma aren’t always obvious. If you’re misinformed about PTSD, you could be saying harmful things to someone who is struggling and needs your support.

What causes an addict or alcoholic in recovery to pause at the sight of temptation? It is something that people who have never lived with drug and alcohol addiction on a chemically dependent level can't understand. Addicts and alcoholics go through a lot of trauma in their addictions, due the addiction itself and trauma they face before. Addiction itself is a traumatic experience. Often, addiction is a manifestation of trauma- a self-inflicted, repetitive pain coupled with intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Coping with trauma often leads to substance abuse to numb the pain, quiet the thoughts, and bring some relief. After everything that addicts and alcoholics go through, it is baffling to others that they would consider picking up a drink or drug again The way addiction rewires the brain creates a lack of regard for consequence. Yet, in the face of consequence like trauma and temptation, the brain enters a paralysis. In the face of a threat- like encountering a traumatic situation such as sexual assault, or temptation like encountering an opportunity to use drugs and alcohol, there is a freeze. Despite months of treatment and therapy, building confidence and self-esteem, learning tools and techniques, there is a freeze. Some professionals refer to it as “victim paralysis”. During physical trauma, there is an inability to fight back. During temptation of substances, there is an inability to leave or say no. Acta Obstetricia Gynecologica Scandinavica published a study on a phenomenon they call “tonic immobility” which is the temporary paralysis experienced. Interestingly, the study found that the individuals most likely to experience the tonic immobility were also more likely to have experiences of mental illness symptoms afterward. PTSD and depression were likely to happen. Shame, guilt, and a toxic pressure to have acted differently, contributes to the development of symptoms of PTSD and depression which can, in turn, inspire more substance abuse, and further tonic immobility. Coping with the experience of not being able to make a rational decision, fight back, stand up to what isn’t right, or act on better knowledge is devastating. After recovery, especially, it can feel like all of the effort and work was worth nothing. That isn’t true. The research proves that tonic immobility is a real life psychological phenomena that is normal.

Trauma has many different meanings when it comes to emotions. One of the broader ways we are understanding more and more of people’s experiences is through their emotional upbringing. There is a movement in treatment and therapy to view most adverse childhood experiences as forms of trauma. Trauma is “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience”. Though trauma used to be associated only with physical violence, today we understand trauma to have a wide spectrum of circumstances and causes, many of which are emotionally related. Abandonment, neglect, emotional unavailability, emotional abuse- all of these emotional experiences create lessons and rules in the brain about emotions. Leaving permanent imprints on the brain causes difficulty in emotional development and growth for people who experience emotional trauma. Unfortunately, emotional challenges in childhood are normal. When most other needs are met like being provided for in house and home, food, school, etc, emotional abuse is not considered problematic. For a developing child who needs a supply of unconditional love, support, healthy boundaries and communication, emotional trauma is problematic. It is problematic for children to grow up without the love and support they need to know who they are, how they should relate to people, and what they deserve in life. As children grow into adolescents, teens, and adults, they develop more emotionally and their emotional trauma, in whatever form, manifests in different ways. For example, people might feel emotionally empty or void, like they’re missing something in their lives because of the love they didn’t receive from their childhood. People who had to completely fend for themselves in their childhood will be fiercely independent in their adult lives, and develop an avoidant personality to keep them from depending on anyone. It is common for there to be a strong inability to recognize one’s own strengths, have compassion for the self, and be able to forgive the self. Parents who don’t fully love their children emotionally teach that child there is something wrong with them, that there is something which inherently makes them unlovable. Sadly, many adults try to cope with this emotional void in their life through unhealthy ways. Without the awareness that they are missing out emotionally and that what happened in their childhood in terms of emotions isn’t actually normal, the struggle to create what they think is normalcy, looking for love in the wrong places. Drugs, alcohol, abusive relationships, and circumstances which mimic their childhoods become their normal, causing a lifetime of distress.