What Is Trauma?

What is Trauma?

Trauma is the unique individual experience of an event or enduring conditions in which the individual's ability to integrate his/her emotional experience is overwhelmed and the individual experiences (either objectively or subjectively) a threat to his/her life, bodily integrity, or that of a caregiver or family (Saakvitne, K. et al, 2000).

There are different types of trauma:

➼ Traumatic stress

➼ PTSD

➼ Complex trauma

➼ Developmental trauma

Intimate partner violence is traumatic. Victims may suffer from anxiety, fear, guilt, flashbacks, cognitive avoidance, hypervigilance and be easily triggered. There is no timestamp on trauma. There’s no formula that someone can follow to transition from horror to healed. Research suggests that 30% of victims of intimate partner violence will develop post-traumatic stress disorder.