What you need to know about trauma

A person's spirit plays a vital role in his life and work. Once the spirit is traumatized, it will lead to a series of diseases and problems. There are usually both external and internal causes for mental trauma. One's own physical condition is an important factor, while external stimulation is the most important factor. Mental trauma is divided into three types according to the severity of the illness: mild, moderate and severe. Different treatments are required according to the different symptoms of the three types.

1. Causes of Psychological Trauma

There are many life events that can cause trauma. From severe catastrophic traumatic events, such as the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the Southeast Asian tsunami, major earthquakes, wars, serious traffic accidents, being kidnapped, robbed or raped, witnessing the death of loved ones or others, death threats or severe physical disabilities caused by serious illnesses, and being victims of violence or other criminal acts, to relatively minor traumatic events, such as broken love, broken marriages, failure in career or studies, interpersonal conflicts, setbacks in the workplace, abandonment or betrayal by loved ones, etc. People often judge the severity of mental trauma based on the severity of the traumatic event. They believe that if a person encounters a serious and terrible disaster, then he must have suffered serious mental trauma. On the contrary, if the traumatic event is not very serious, it will be believed that the person’s mental damage will not be very serious. In fact, this view is very wrong. For a person with a strong heart, a very serious traumatic event may not cause serious mental trauma. On the contrary, for a person with a relatively fragile mentality, an event that is generally considered not very serious may be enough to cause serious mental trauma. Therefore, we judge the severity of a person's mental trauma not based on the severity of the traumatic event, but based on the person's psychological, emotional and physiological reactions.

2. Related inspections

Mild mental trauma may manifest as low mood, melancholy, tears, decreased motivation, unwillingness to interact with others, lack of interest in life, etc. This situation is very common in our lives. Strictly speaking, everyone will experience it many times in their life. This situation can usually be cured by itself through comfort and support from relatives and friends, and self-adjustment after a period of adjustment, without the need for professional treatment. However, if the above condition persists for more than 3 months, you should consider seeking professional help. Treatment can be through medication, but it can also be through non-drug counseling or psychotherapy.

Moderate mental trauma may manifest as prolonged depression, pessimism, social isolation, or severe sleep disorders, anxiety, fear, and even suicidal tendencies. This is often misdiagnosed as depression, neurasthenia, anxiety or phobia. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs did not work well. Therefore, special treatments specifically targeting psychological trauma are needed to be effective. Treatment mainly relies on non-drug psychotherapy, and drug therapy can only play an auxiliary role.

Severe mental trauma is also known as PTSD. In addition to the above symptoms, it also has typical symptoms, such as the memory or images of the harmful event constantly appearing in dreams, or constantly reappearing in the mind even when awake, causing the victim to often be in panic and pain and unable to extricate himself, as if the traumatic event happened just now. This phenomenon is called a flashback. In addition, many normal scenes in life may become triggers for traumatic memories, awakening memories and experiences of traumatic events, thereby causing strong emotional and physiological reactions. More serious trauma, especially childhood trauma, may also cause serious personality distortion and psychopathy. In this case, systematic and rigorous psychological trauma treatment is required to cure or improve the condition.