Trauma: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Trauma is basically a wound in the consciousness in the psychological sense. Due to certain circumstances that can occur at any stage of life, the affected person perceives a certain situation completely differently in the aftermath and usually suffers significantly from it. However, the trauma can be healed by professional help.

What is trauma?

Trauma is first of all a mental wounding. It is usually triggered by a strong emotional experience and thus provides an injury that is still perceived by the affected person even after many years. Trauma usually restricts the patient in such life situations in which similar incidents are to be feared. Thus, the trauma is an emotional, psychological or mental suffering. It is not always registered permanently, and it may occur only in a few exceptional situations. Nevertheless, it is precisely in this that the full destructive power of trauma is revealed, which in rare cases can lead to the hopelessness of the person affected. Such trauma should therefore be treated psychologically.

Causes

As a trigger for the trauma all situations come into question, which burn themselves in the person in a negative way literally in the memory. These can be accidents or spontaneously occurring fears. Likewise, the trauma is usually due to a moment of shock in which the patient was no longer able to react, to reconsider the situation or to flee. He watches the event helplessly, not infrequently feeling himself a victim and freezing before the situation, which subsequently sticks to him as a trauma. Often it is also harmless children’s games, in which unconsciously coercion is used, which later leads to a trauma. In this respect, the range of causes from which trauma can result is wide.

Symptoms, complaints, and signs

Mental trauma is often not immediately recognized by those affected as a mental disorder requiring treatment, since the symptoms, especially initially, can be very diffuse. A typical symptom of trauma in the early stages, for example, is a particular irritability. Those affected lose patience very quickly or react disproportionately to a stimulus. This can manifest itself through anger, rage and aggression, but also through self-pity and sadness. Another symptom commonly seen in trauma patients is sleep disturbances and insomnia. Patients often cannot find sleep at night or are repeatedly awakened for no reason and cannot sleep through the night, which leads to severe states of exhaustion even in the short term. In addition, there is often frightfulness and trembling. The startle can be triggered by completely harmless stimuli such as a slammed door or a rattling window. It often occurs even when the patient can observe the event and is not surprised by the noise that frightens him. The fright is often followed by severe tremors that affect the entire body. If a trauma remains untreated or if it is a severe form, the affected person also suffers from intrusions; common are especially nightmares and so-called flashbacks. In very severe forms, severe concentration disorders and memory lapses can also be observed.

Diagnosis and course

Trauma usually remains unnoticed by the patient for a long time. If, for example, he suffers such a trauma in early childhood due to a quarrel in the family, it can sometimes take years or decades until the suffering occurs again in a similar incident. It is also not uncommon that the symptoms never break out and the trauma is thus present in the subconscious, but the affected person never actively notices anything about it at any time in his life. Therefore, such exceptional situations are usually the only way to recognize the trauma. Far more rarely, on the other hand, it happens that the trauma actually occurs at regular intervals and can then also be perceived as such.

Complications

The term trauma can be used to describe both psychological and physical injuries. Therefore, trauma can result in a variety of complications. Mental trauma can carve a path as post-traumatic stress disorder years after a traumatic experience. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a complication in processing what has been experienced. It must be treated because there is a risk of suicide.Due to flashbacks and anxiety disorders, the affected persons are under such severe psychological pressure that they cannot find their way out of the disorder without professional help. A number of complications following physical trauma can result from severe traumatic brain injury. The most common complications of such trauma may include personality changes, emotional disturbances, confusion or disorientation. Depending on the area injured, speech and language disorders, dysphagia, or visual field loss may occur. Paralysis, epileptic seizures or spasticity may occur as a result of injuries to the brain. Perception may be impaired or disturbed as a result of the trauma. In the worst case, a coma in the waking hours is the result after a traumatic brain injury. Complications can potentially occur after any surgery. This represents tissue-related trauma. Postoperative sequelae such as fever, sepsis, tachycardia, hypotension or hypertension, electrolyte imbalances, or acrocyanosis are conceivable. Any postoperative complication must be responded to promptly.

When should you see a doctor?

Processing an emotionally stressful event should always be accompanied by therapy. The help and support can be perceived after experiencing various events. Whenever there is an emotional distress, a doctor should be consulted and the further procedure should be discussed. An accident, a separation, a death or a violent act are some situations in which medical help is recommended. Abnormalities and changes in behavior can be understood as warning signals. If they persist or increase in intensity, a physician is needed. Sleep disturbances, significant weight changes or irritability indicate a health impairment. A physician is needed as soon as a depressive demeanor, fluctuations in mood, or severe jumpiness are noticed. In case of a withdrawal from social life, disturbances of concentration or problems in coping with everyday life, the affected person needs help. A decrease in physical as well as mental performance, exhaustion, faintness or exhaustion should also be presented to a doctor. Disturbances of the digestive tract, headaches as well as an inner restlessness are complaints that are characteristic after a traumatic experience. Likewise, anxiety, gaps in memory, and sensations such as anger, annoyance, or sadness are signs of psychological distress that should be discussed with a physician.

Treatment and therapy

As a rule, trauma can be cured. For this purpose, the causes can be analyzed and treated in outpatient as well as inpatient therapies. As a rule, this does not require medication. In exceptional cases, however, the trauma is so severe that it makes it seem impossible to perform a job or minor activities of daily living. In this case, mental blockers would be used to try to diminish the symptoms of the trauma to the extent that they do not constitute an obstacle. What to treat in each individual case, however, should be decided by a psychologist. The difficulty in treating the trauma, however, lies in first locating it in the entire subconscious. This is because it is often a part of the memories that is not perceived by many of those affected. Even if the trigger of the trauma can be identified, there are usually other circumstances attached to it that also need to be uncovered. Only when it is clear what the mental injury is based on can it be remedied with talk therapies. It is not uncommon for the patient to be confronted with the condition that triggered the trauma.

Prevention

It is almost impossible to prevent trauma. Because that would mean being mentally prepared in every situation so that shock cannot occur. But since stress, anxiety, grief, and other emotions do not allow this strength, a thinking and feeling person will always be vulnerable to trauma.

This is what you can do yourself

There are different variations of self-help for trauma. These depend on whether the trauma is physical or psychological. In the area of physical trauma, the body should be given all the rest and respite it needs to regenerate. This applies not only to the affected area of the body, but in many cases to the entire organism. A sufficient amount of sleep is particularly suitable for this purpose.The ability to bear stress can be gradually restored with light exercise, such as walks, but any form of overuse must be prevented at all costs. The mental trauma also needs rest in order to be processed by the affected person. Stress is to be avoided and insomnia can be counteracted, for example, with light endurance sports. Warm baths, social contacts and one of the numerous relaxation methods are also often helpful in this context: examples are Progressive Muscle Relaxation according to Jacobsen or Autogenic Training. Yoga also rebalances body, mind and spirit through a beneficial mix of physical and breathing exercises, relaxation and meditation. Conversations can also help to cope with trauma. Relatives or friends are often just the right people to talk to in confidence. Exchange among like-minded people is often offered by specialized self-help groups, whose participants can provide a helpful exchange of experiences and valuable tips.