What is trauma?

 

According to CAMH (the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health):

Trauma is the lasting emotional response that often results from living through a distressing event. Experiencing a traumatic event can harm a person's sense of safety, sense of self, and ability to regulate emotions and navigate relationships. Long after the traumatic event occurs, people with trauma can often feel shame, helplessness, powerlessness and intense fear.

 

Sound familiar? Most of us will have experienced some form of trauma in our lifetimes. 

 

Trauma is a lasting emotional response. In other words the emotional response to the event continues to exist and be triggered long after the distressing event has passed. Even if a person if now in a safe place away from the distressing event a person's sense of safety, sense of self and ability to regulate emotions and navigate relationships are affected. Whew!! Who would have thought a distressing event from our past could have had such a negative impact on our present day to day life. As the definition goes on, the affected person will continue to feel shame, helplessness, powerlessness and intense fear. 

 

Pleasant reading, right?!

 

Luckily there are ways to release this trauma in our bodies.