In many cases, this may lead a person with a traumatic disorder to engage in disruptive behaviors or self-destructive coping mechanisms, often without being fully aware of the nature or causes of their own actions.
[10] Consequently, intense feelings of anger may frequently surface, sometimes in inappropriate or unexpected situations, as danger may always seem to be present due to re-experiencing past events.
Exposure to and re-experiencing trauma can cause neurophysiological changes like slowed myelination, abnormalities in synaptic pruning, shrinking of the hippocampus, cognitive and affective impairment.
This can lead to feelings of despair, transient paranoid ideation, loss of self-esteem, profound emptiness, suicidality, and frequently, depression.
[18] Trauma can be caused by human-made, technological and natural disasters,[19] including war, abuse, violence, vehicle collisions, or medical emergencies.
Studies showed that extreme stress early in life can disrupt normal development of hippocampus and impact its functions in adulthood.
PTSD emerged as the label for this condition after the Vietnam War in which many veterans returned to their respective countries demoralized, and sometimes, addicted to psychoactive substances.
[15] Research shows that about 60% of the US population reported as having experienced at least one traumatic symptom in their lives, but only a small proportion actually develops PTSD.
It was originally used by South African clinicians to describe the effects of exposure to frequent, high levels of violence usually associated with civil conflict and political repression.
[27]: 11 Normally, hearing about or seeing a recording of an event, even if distressing, does not cause trauma; however, an exception is made to the diagnostic criteria for work-related exposures.
[28] Trauma may also result if workers witness situations that happen in the course of their work (e.g. violence in the workplace, reviewing violent video tapes.
[30] Vicarious trauma can lead workers to develop more negative views of themselves, others, and the world as a whole, which can compromise their quality of life and ability to work effectively.
[36] French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot argued in the 1890s that psychological trauma was the origin of all instances of the mental illness known as hysteria.
Fosha argues that the sense of emotional safety and co-regulation that occurs in a psychodynamically oriented therapeutic relationship acts as the secure attachment that is necessary to allow a client to experience and process through their trauma safely and effectively.
The information gathered through observation of affect regulation will guide the clinician's decisions regarding the individual's readiness to partake in various therapeutic activities.
[55] Trauma symptoms may come in the form of intrusive memories, dreams, or flashbacks; avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event; negative thoughts and feelings; or increased alertness or reactivity.
This is seen when institutions depended upon for survival violate, humiliate, betray, or cause major losses or separations instead of evoking aspects like positive self worth, safe boundaries and personal freedom.
[59] Typical causes and dangers of psychological trauma include harassment; embarrassment; abandonment; abusive relationships; rejection; co-dependence; physical assault; sexual abuse; partner battery; employment discrimination; police brutality; judicial corruption and misconduct; bullying; paternalism; domestic violence; indoctrination; being the victim of an alcoholic parent; the threat or the witnessing of violence (particularly in childhood); life-threatening medical conditions; and medication-induced trauma.
[63] Infants and children begin to create internal representations of their external environment, and in particular, key attachment relationships, shortly after birth.
Child abuse tends to have the most complications, with long-term effects out of all forms of trauma, because it occurs during the most sensitive and critical stages of psychological development.
For example, Hickey's Trauma-Control Model suggests that "childhood trauma for serial murderers may serve as a triggering mechanism resulting in an individual's inability to cope with the stress of certain events.
Personality changes include guilt, distrust, impulsiveness, aggression, avoidance, obsessive behaviour, emotional numbness, loss of interest, hopelessness and altered self-perception.
[70] There is a large body of empirical support for the use of cognitive behavioral therapy[71][72] for the treatment of trauma-related symptoms,[73] including post-traumatic stress disorder.
[77][78] A 2010 Cochrane review found that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy was effective for individuals with acute traumatic stress symptoms when compared to waiting list and supportive counseling.
[79] Seeking Safety is another type of cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on learning safe coping skills for co-occurring PTSD and substance use problems.
[80] While some sources highlight Seeking Safety as effective[81] with strong research support,[82] others have suggested that it did not lead to improvements beyond usual treatment.
[83] At present, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) are the only medications that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States to treat PTSD.
[84] Other options for pharmacotherapy include serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressants and anti-psychotic medications, though none have been FDA approved.
[93][94] Along with complex trauma, these students often have experienced interrupted schooling due to the migration process, and as a consequence may have limited literacy skills in their first language.
[97] This imprecise language may promote the medicalization of normal human behaviors (e.g., grief after a death) and make discussions of psychological trauma more complex, but it might also encourage people to respond with compassion to the distress and suffering of others.