Trauma and Abuse Therapy

Trauma

Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event.  When that trauma leads to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), damage may involve physical changes inside the brain and to brain chemistry, which affect the person's ability to cope with stress.

A traumatic event involves a single experience, or an enduring or repeating event or events, that completely overwhelm the individual's ability to cope or integrate the ideas and emotions involved with that experience.  The sense of being overwhelmed can be delayed by weeks or years, as the person struggles to cope with the immediate danger.

Psychological trauma may accompany physical trauma or exist independently of it.  Typical causes of psychological trauma are sexual abuse, violence, the threat of either, or the witnessing of either, particularly in childhood.  Catastrophic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, war or other mass violence can also cause psychological trauma. Long-term exposure to situations such as extreme poverty or milder forms of abuse, such as verbal abuse, can be traumatic (though verbal abuse can also potentially be traumatic as a single event).

Different people will react differently to similar events.  One person may experience an event as traumatic while another person would not suffer trauma.  In other words, not all people who experience a potentially traumatic event will actually become psychologically traumatized.

People who go through traumatic experiences often have certain symptoms and problems afterward.  How severe these symptoms are depends on the person, the type of trauma involved, and the emotional support they receive from others.  Reactions to and symptoms of trauma can be wide and varied, and differ in severity from person to person.

After a traumatic experience, a person may re-experience the trauma mentally and physically, hence avoiding trauma reminders, also called triggers, as this can be uncomfortable and even painful.  They may turn to alcohol and/or psychoactive substances to try to escape the feelings.  Re-experiencing symptoms are a sign that the body and mind are actively struggling to cope with the traumatic experience.  Triggers and cues act as reminders of the trauma, and can cause anxiety and other associated emotions.  Often the person can be completely unaware of what these triggers are.  In many cases this may lead a person suffering from traumatic disorders to engage in disruptive or self-destructive coping mechanisms, often without being fully aware of the nature or causes of their own actions.  Panic attacks are an example of a psychosomatic response to such emotional triggers.

Consequently, intense feelings of anger may surface frequently, sometimes in very inappropriate or unexpected situations, as danger may always seem to be present. Upsetting memories such as images, thoughts, or flashbacks may haunt the person, and nightmares may be frequent.  Insomnia may occur as lurking fears and insecurity keep the person vigilant and on the lookout for danger, both day and night.

In time, emotional exhaustion may set in, leading to distraction, and clear thinking may be difficult or impossible.  Emotional detachment, as well as dissociation or "numbing out", can frequently occur.  Dissociating from the painful emotion includes numbing all emotion, and the person may seem emotionally flat, preoccupied or distant.  The person can become confused in ordinary situations and have memory problems.

Some traumatized people may feel permanently damaged when trauma symptoms don't go away and they don't believe their situation will improve.  This can lead to feelings of despair, loss of self-esteem, and frequently depression.  If important aspects of the person's self and world understanding have been violated, the person may call their own identity into question.

Therapies used in the treatment of psychological trauma include:

• Cognitive therapy (CBT)
• Brief therapy
• Psychodynamic psychotherapy
• Play therapy
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)
• Narrative therapy

According to Lawrence G. Calhoun and Richard Tedeschi, both professors at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, trauma experiences can lead to growth, though this is not inevitable.  They have found that "reports of growth experiences in the aftermath of traumatic events far outnumber reports of psychiatric disorders."  They state that these changes can include

"...improved relationships, new possibilities for one's life, a greater appreciation for life, a greater sense of personal strength and spiritual development.  There appears to be a basic paradox apprehended by trauma survivors who report these aspects of posttraumatic growth:  Their losses have produced valuable gains  ...They also may find themselves becoming more comfortable with intimacy and having a greater sense of compassion for others who experience life difficulties.

Still, they add, "posttraumatic growth does not necessarily yield less emotional distress."

"...posttraumatic growth occurs in the context of suffering and significant psychological struggle, and a focus on this growth should not come at the expense of empathy for the pain and suffering of trauma survivors.  For most trauma survivors, posttraumatic growth and distress will coexist, and the growth emerges from the struggle with coping, not from the trauma itself."

They point out that "there are also a significant number of people who experience little or no growth in their struggle with trauma."

Abuse

Abuse is any behavior that is designed to control and subjugate another human being through the use of fear, humiliation, intimidation, guilt, coercion, manipulation etc. Emotional abuse is any kind of abuse that is emotional rather than physical in nature.  It can include anything from verbal abuse and constant criticism to more subtle tactics, such as repeated disapproval or even the refusal to ever be pleased.

Emotional abuse is like brain washing in that it systematically wears away at the victim's self-confidence, sense of self-worth, trust in their own perceptions, and self-concept. Whether it is done by constant berating and belittling, by intimidation, or under the guise of "guidance," "teaching", or "advice," the results are similar.  Eventually, the recipient of the abuse loses all sense of self and remnants of personal value.  Emotional abuse cuts to the very core of a person, creating scars that may be far deeper and more lasting than physical ones.  In fact there is research to this effect.  With emotional abuse, the insults, insinuations, criticism, and accusations slowly eat away at the victim's self-esteem until he/she is incapable of judging the situation realistically.  A person becomes so beaten down emotionally that he/she blames themself for the abuse.  One's self-esteem is so low that clinging to the abuser feels like the healthy course of action.

Emotional abuse victims can become so convinced that they are worthless that they believe that no one else could want them.  They stay in abusive situations because they believe they have nowhere else to go.  Their ultimate fear is being all alone.

No one intends to be in an abusive relationship, but individuals who were verbally abused by a parent or other significant person often find themselves in similar situations as an adult.  If a parent tended to define your experiences and emotions, and judge your behaviors, you may not have learned how to set your own standards, develop your own viewpoints and validate your own feeling and perceptions.  Consequently, the controlling and defining stance taken by an emotional abuser may feel familiar or even conformable to you, although it is destructive.

Recipients of abuse often struggle with feelings of powerlessness, hurt, fear, and anger. Ironically abusers tend to struggle with these same feelings.  Abusers are also likely to have been raised in emotionally abusive environments and they learn to be abusive as a way to cope with their own feelings of powerlessness, hurt , fear, and anger.  Consequently, abusers may be attracted to people who see themselves as helpless or who have not learned to value their own feelings, perceptions, or viewpoints.  This allows the abuser to feel more secure and in control, and avoid dealing with their own feelings, and self-perceptions.

Understanding the pattern of your relationships, specially those with family members and other significant people, is a first step toward change.  A lack of clarity about who you are in relationship to significant others may manifest itself in different ways.  For example, you may act as an "abuser" in some instances and as a "recipient" in others.  You may find that you tend to be abused in your romantic relationships, allowing your partners to define and control you.  In friendships, however, you may play the role of abuser by withholding, manipulating, trying to "help" others, etc.  Knowing yourself and understanding your past can prevent abuse from being recreated in your life.

If you or someone you know is struggling to recover from a traumatic event or situation, please contact us today for a free consultation and ask to speak with Kimberley Harris, Ray Robinson, Jennifer Reed, or Chris Berger.