Take a moment and think about the damage done to someone who has been told by their parents they’re ugly, or by a wife whose husband ignores or labels her loneliness as unworthy of attention. These traumas are primarily identifiable by the psychological impact they have on us. Ask any domestic violence survivor what they find more upsetting from being abused by their spouse, and many of them will tell you the emotional harm they suffered had longer lasting impacts on their sense of worth and on their ability to recover than the physical harm done.Īnyone who is made to feel less than, who is ridiculed, manipulated, lied to, or shamed has experienced a lowercase ‘t’ trauma. In many cases, lowercase ‘t’ traumas can actually be more harmful in the long term than ‘capital T’ traumas because they are internalized. The use of capital and lowercase is simply to distinguish the obviousness that these types of traumas have. Let me begin this section by saying that a lowercase ‘t’ trauma is in no way less significant or harmful than a ‘capital T’ trauma. Lowercase ‘t’ traumas (a.k.a., micro-traumas) Those terrifying experiences, ‘take on a life of their own’ and show up in the form of nightmares, flashbacks, and trigger responses. When we experience a trauma, especially one of this caliber, our ability to organize confusing or terrifying experiences in our brain in a way that makes sense to us becomes compromised. The overwhelming experience is split off and fragmented, so that the emotions, sounds, images, thoughts, and physical sensations related to the trauma take on a life of their own.” Those who have gone through such tragedies often suffer the effects in very visceral ways.īessel Van Der Kolk writes, “Dissociation is the essence of trauma. Natural disasters, diseases, physical, sexual harm, witnessing death, witnessing abuse, experiencing neglect – these experiences all fall into this category.Īll of these ‘capital T’ trauma experiences are valid traumas. ‘Capital T’ traumas are overt, extreme, and fit the common conception of a trauma. Like us if you are enjoying this content.
Group Counseling Benefit from the support of others.Family Counseling Establish the peaceful home you desire.Christian Couples Counseling Work through challenges together.Individual Services Address your personal concerns confidentially.
Services Read about the expertise available.
0 kommentar(er)
