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What is Trauma?

Trauma is an emotional response to an experience that feels overwhelming, frightening, or life-threatening. It can affect our thoughts, emotions, relationships, and even our physical health. Trauma can happen to anyone, at any age.

Trauma can occur from a single distressing event, such as an accident, natural disaster, or assault, or from prolonged or repeated experiences, such as abuse, neglect, discrimination, poverty, or growing up in an unsafe environment. When we experience trauma, our nervous system may react in ways that are meant to protect us, but over time these responses can get in the way of feeling safe, connected, and in control.

Healing is possible. Understanding trauma is the first step toward reclaiming your sense of safety and well-being.

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, such as combat, assault, an accident, or a natural disaster. It may involve flashbacks, anxiety, and a sense of being constantly on edge.

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Complex Trauma
Complex trauma results from repeated, prolonged experiences of harm, often in childhood, such as abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. It can affect self-esteem, relationships, and emotional regulation.

Vicarious Trauma
Vicarious trauma occurs when a person is affected by the trauma experiences of others, often seen in caregivers, first responders, therapists, and helping professionals.

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Intergenerational Trauma
Intergenerational trauma is the emotional and psychological impact of trauma that is passed down through families and communities across generations.

Acute Trauma
Acute trauma is caused by a single, distressing event, such as a car accident, physical assault, or sudden loss. It can be intense but may be shorter in duration with support.

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Developmental Trauma
Developmental trauma occurs when a child’s early experiences of danger, neglect, or inconsistency interfere with healthy brain development and a sense of safety

“Trauma survivors are often triggered by normal, everyday life experiences.”

Janina Fisher

“Trauma is not what happens to you, but what happens inside you.”

Gabor Maté

“The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma.”

Judith Herman

Your experiences do not define you. With compassion, support, and time, healing is possible.

RLN Counselling