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Symptoms, Treatment, and Recovery
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Emotional or psychological trauma
- Trauma risk factors
- Symptoms of trauma
- When to seek professional help
- Finding a trauma specialist
- Treatment for trauma
- Trauma recovery tips
What is emotional and psychological trauma?
Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless and vulnerable in a dangerous world.
Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and alone can be traumatic, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective facts that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized.
Causes of emotional or psychological trauma
An event will most likely lead to emotional or psychological trauma if:
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Emotional and psychological trauma can be caused by single-blow, one-time events, such as a horrible accident, a natural disaster, or a violent attack. Trauma can also stem from ongoing, relentless stress, such as living in a crime-ridden neighborhood or struggling with cancer.
Commonly overlooked causes of emotional and psychological trauma
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