What is Trauma?
Trauma is highly subjective experience which has a profound and powerful influence on the individual and subsequent events of their lives. Many survivors of trauma do not know they are carrying it, often do not know how to start their healing journey, living in shame, guilt, fear and isolation. Avoiding feelings, not processing emotions or denying traumatic experiences, unfortunately only leads to more serious problems affecting individual's emotional, physical, relational, cognitive, behavioral and even spiritual aspects of being. See below for common symptoms associated with unprocessed trauma.
What symptoms associated with Trauma?
Emotional Symtoms:
Anxiety and excessive worry, depression or sadness, mood swings or irritability, emotional numbness, or detachment, feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
Physical Symptoms
Chronic pain or tension, fatigue or low energy, startle response or hypervigilance, gastrointestinal issues or other unexplained medical symptoms
Relational Symptoms:
Difficulty trusting others, problems in intimate relationships, people-pleasing or fear of rejection, abandonment and insecure attachment patterns, emotional push-and-pull
Cognitive Symptoms
Intrusive thoughts or memories, difficulty concentrating or focusing, confusion or forgetfulness, negative beliefs about oneself or the world
Behavioral
Symptoms
Avoidance of reminders or triggers, withdrawal from social activities or relationships, changes in sleep patterns (insomnia, nightmares), changes in appetite or weight, substance abuse if self-destructive behaviors
Spiritual Symptoms
Lost sense of one's Self, disconnection from one's life purpose, lack of meaning in life, existential crisis (Dark Night of the Soul), disconnection from Source/God/Nature/Universe, lost sense of one's worthiness, wholesomness and holiness.