Trauma is a widespread issue in the US. Photo by Michael Walk on Unsplash.
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Trauma is a widespread issue in the US. Photo by Michael Walk on Unsplash.
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Trauma is a widespread issue in the US. Photo by Michael Walk on Unsplash.” data-image-caption=”
Trauma is a widespread issue in the US. Photo by Michael Walk on Unsplash.
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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
“The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.” Peter A. Levine
“Get over it, everyone goes through some version of it”.
“It’s all in your head, no need to make up stories like this”.
“You must have done something wrong. Otherwise, this would not have happened”.
“What did you do that made the person do this to you?”
“You are a Man, how can it happen to you?”
What is trauma?
When we think of trauma, we often picture war zones, abusive relationships, or famine-stricken regions. These are unquestionably traumatic experiences, but trauma isn’t limited to extreme experiences. It can also arise from events or patterns that feel much more “ordinary” on the surface, yet leave lasting wounds on the psyche.
Trauma can be the loss of a partner, the sudden end of a dream, or growing up in a home where emotions were ignored or invalidated. It can be the result of living in a volatile household, where parents constantly fought, or worse, where silence reigned and nothing was ever said out loud.
Sometimes trauma isn’t about what happened. It’s about what didn’t happen—the hug you didn’t get when you were scared, the voice that didn’t reassure you, the absence of someone who could say, “I see you, and I care.”
Trauma is not always loud. Sometimes, it’s quiet, hiding in routines in the way you talk to yourself, the relationships you chase or avoid, or the way your body tenses up even when nothing seems wrong.
Trauma – a widespread issue in the US
According to a WHO factsheet, “Trauma is a widespread issue in the United States, with significant impacts on individuals and the economy. Approximately 70% of adults experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. While most people exposed to trauma do not develop PTSD, an estimated 3.6% of U.S. adults experienced it in the past year, with higher rates among females. The economic burden of trauma is substantial, estimated at $406 billion annually, encompassing healthcare costs and lost productivity.
How does trauma impact the brain?
Trauma impacts an individual’s ability to cope, leading to lasting emotional, psychological, or physical effects.
Importantly, trauma is not just about an event, but one’s reaction to it; the infinite feeling—an ominous sense that, once entered, the person feels stuck and is unable to get out of it. Therefore, trauma is how the mind and body respond to the event.
The symptoms of trauma are:
- Persistent sadness or depression
- Anger or irritability
- Social withdrawal
- Hypervigilance
- Sleeplessness
- Difficulty concentrating.
A distressing event activates the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for detecting threats. This sends an internal alarm, triggering the sympathetic nervous system and releasing adrenaline, noradrenaline, and stress hormones to prepare the body for a fight–flight–or–freeze response.
When a person is exposed to distressing stimuli repeatedly, the body can go into a state of chronic shock, similar to how we react to an electric shock. Unlike a visible electric jolt, trauma is hidden. It typically manifests itself through depressive episodes, emotional numbness, or hypervigilance.
These symptoms may also lead to physical complaints such as chest pain, headaches, sleep disturbances, or fluctuating blood pressure. In such cases, a medical assessment is essential alongside psychological support.
The process of healing
Healing trauma takes time. It is not about “removing” it, but understanding, processing, and integrating it into your life story. This cannot be done just by talking with friends or attending a few meditation classes—it requires the guidance of an experienced trauma-informed professional. If unaddressed, trauma remains stored in the body and mind, potentially leading to chronic mental health struggles.
The role of repetition
People who have experienced trauma often find themselves trying to relive their experience by re-exposing themselves to trauma. For example, when someone has been abused sexually or physically, the victim often feels that they deserve it or that’s what they are familiar with. So in many cases, they end up repeating the same pattern and get stuck in that cycle.
Trauma can interfere with a person’s ability to imagine or create the life they truly want. Many of these patterns can be traced back to childhood experiences, particularly when primary caregivers were not able to provide emotional safety. These early environments shape our vulnerability and capacity to cope.
The event is one thing, but the meaning an individual assigns to it is often another and, usually, more insidious. Often, the personal narrative around trauma—built from pain and misunderstanding—becomes a permanent and all-consuming reality! Without intervention, this narrative can become a long-term barrier to healing.
Saba’s story
Saba, in her early 30s, came to me about anger issues. As the oldest of three sisters growing up in the Bay Area, Saba was thrust into the role of a caregiver to their chronically ill mother from a very young age, essentially becoming a parent to both her sisters and her mother.
Although we initially focused on her anger and frequent arguments with her sisters, it soon became clear that Saba’s trauma had been repressed into her unconscious mind. She didn’t understand why she was so frequently angry, and why meditation, exercise, anger management classes, etc., did not seem to help.
Through our work together, Saba realized she had never had a childhood or adolescence. In her formative years, she was burdened with crushing family pressures while having to deal with her own academic demands. Her own needs and desires had to be put on hold for years.
As she began to speak more and more about her past, we were able to put words to her pain. This helped her develop a new narrative—one that she and her sisters could begin to share more openly and with less reactivity. They later decided to attend family therapy together.
With the support of individual and group therapy, Saba was eventually able to identify the root cause of her anger, learn practical anger management tools, and rebuild her life – one that she feels truly belongs to her, not one shaped only by obligation and survival.
Traumatic experiences often get buried deep in the unconscious, but their effects continue to ripple through our lives. In Saba’s case, anger served as a protective shield, but it was also harming her and those around her. Therapy helped her move from reactivity to reflection, from being stuck in the past to reclaiming agency over her future.
Additional resources
Psychology Today lists several trauma and PTSD support groups in San Jose, including:
- Healing Circle for Survivors of Sexual Trauma: A group for women.
- Lotus Family Services: Focuses on relationship trauma and family stress.
- Infidelity Support Group for Betrayed Partners: For those dealing with infidelity.
- CSC: Community of Survivors & Courage (Recruiting): For female-identified survivors of sexual assault.
- Trauma of Dating in the Bay Support Group: For those experiencing dating-related trauma in the Bay Area.
The post The Unseen Wounds: Understanding & Healing Trauma appeared first on India Currents.
