How trauma impacts our mental health

Trauma is a word that is used a lot and to some extent something that we all go through in one way or another. 

There is the traumatic event and the trauma itself. Trauma is the response to the traumatic event. 

Being traumatised, or what would be considered as a traumatic event in a clinical therapy sense. It is an event where you have experienced a serious injury, threatened death or thought you or someone around you was going to die, where someone feels completely hopeless and more. 

We have two types of trauma, emotional and psychological. These are where it shatters your sense of security, makes you feel helpless and like the world is a dangerous place. 

The impact of trauma on their mental health is unique to each individual. Some people may deal with a specific event and be okay, whereas others may go through the same event and feel traumatised.

Trauma can manifest in several ways which can be detrimental to your mental health. For example;

  • It changes the way you feel, emotionally and physically

  • Changes the way you think and behave

  • Physical reactions such as changes in sleep, shakiness and headaches 

  • It can reside in your body

  • Impacts our cognition, presenting poor concentration or memory and difficulty making decisions

  • Intrusive thoughts about the event and flashbacks

When it comes to sexual trauma, there can be a lot of shame and guilt that an individual feels. Society plays a role in this as some people can be very victim blaming, for example saying statements like “why were you in that situation in the first place?”.

The after effects of sexual trauma can often be internalised which negatively impacts how you see yourself, which isn’t helped by the role the societal stigma.

I asked Rebecca Kimberley how we can cope with processing a traumatic event or trauma? She advises to “think about what you need rather than what other people think you should be doing. We have to think of psychological trauma as physical trauma. If someone had a car crash yesterday I would not expect them to be at work the next day. Just because we can’t see it we assume we just have to deal with it and we don't”.

Rebecca recommends for anyone who is struggling with their mental health or has been through a traumatic event to:

  • Not give up, there is always someone who will be able to help you. 

  • Reach out to a mental health professional who works with clients with the experience you have been through and are looking for support with. 

  • If you don't feel supported by a professional, find a different therapist or GP. It’s absolutely okay to work with someone else. 

  • If you are uncomfortable having the conversation alone or don’t feel like you're being understood, it can be helpful to have an advocate with you, i.e. family member, friend.

To hear more on this topic, this episode goes live on the Balance Life Well with Emily podcast on Monday 10th May.

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