Trauma Responses – you never know what the past will bring

“The mind replays what the heart can’t delete.” — Unknown

Adults who suffer from traumatic stress are those who have been exposed to trauma over the course of their lives and develop reactions that persist and affect their daily lives, long after the events have ended. Traumatic reactions can include a variety of responses, such as intense and ongoing emotional upset, depressive symptoms or anxiety, problems relating to others or forming attachments, attention and academic difficulties, nightmares, difficulty sleeping and eating, and physical symptoms, such as aches and pains. Common coping mechanisms include using drugs or alcohol, behaving in risky ways, or engaging in unhealthy sexual activity.

Experts believe that trauma distinctly impacts your brain and body causing your nervous system to stay on “high alert,” always ready to face the next threat. The event is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala. This activates the body whenever a situation reminds the person of the traumatic event(s). Many people continue to feel the effects of trauma — known as post-traumatic stress — for years after the traumatic event.

Survivors who have suffered from traumatic stress often have specific types of symptoms when reminded of the trauma. These reactions interfere with daily life and their ability to function and interact with others. The way that traumatic stress manifests will vary from person to person and will depend on the person’s age and developmental level at the time of the traumatic event. 

Without treatment, traumatic events can affect the brain and nervous system and increase health-risk behaviors (e.g., smoking, eating disorders, substance use, and high-risk activities). Research shows that trauma survivors are more likely to have long-term health problems (e.g., diabetes and heart disease) or to die at an earlier age, and often have difficulty in establishing fulfilling relationships and maintaining employment.

Experiencing trauma can shrink your window of tolerance, which is the ideal spot where you feel like you can handle stressful situations without feeling overwhelmed, known as Distress Tolerance. Maladaptive Coping Strategies can develop in response to extraordinary life events such as trauma and abuse. By connecting our emotional responses to their deeper roots, we can begin to approach the Triggers that cause our traumatic responses more rationally and compassionately.

Trauma Responses

Traumatic experiences leave a legacy of reminders that may persist for years. These reminders are linked to aspects of the traumatic experience, its circumstances, and its aftermath. Trauma response/reaction is what therapists refer to as a Post-Traumatic-Stress episode. It occurs when, following a traumatic event, an individual continues to experience the stress of the trauma, through flashbacks when triggered, or nightmares about the traumatic event.

1. Trauma Pleasure – Trauma Pleasure is seeking stimulation in the presence of extreme danger, violence, risk or shame. For some trauma survivors, the brain associates the traumatic event with arousal leading individuals to seek out high levels of stimulation, to feel normal. This can lead to high-risk behaviors (eg: speeding, drugs, sexual promiscuity, etc.).

2. Trauma Blocking – Trauma Blocking refers to the escapements used to avoid uncomfortable feelings (eg: alcohol, drugs, TV binging, emotional eating, compulsive work/exercise/gambling, etc.).

3. Trauma Splitting – Trauma Splitting is when trauma survivors learn to dissociate or detach from the uncomfortable reality of their trauma. Individuals may focus on another reality by imaging themselves elsewhere while they are being abused. It can also take for form of amnesia, multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder.

4. Trauma Abstinence – Trauma Abstinence refers to compulsive deprivation. Trauma survivors may deny themselves basic needs like food, medical care, or sexual pleasure. For some individuals it manifests as sabotaging opportunities for success or happiness.

5. Trauma Shame – Trauma Shame applies to individuals who harbor feelings of being defective or flawed as a result of their trauma. Survivors often believe that if people knew the truth about their traumatic experiences, they would leave. They attempt to compensate by setting unrealistic expectations and standards for themselves, and when they fail to meet them, it confirms their shame.

6. Trauma Repetition – Trauma Repetition means repeating behaviors and/or seeking situations or people to recreate the trauma experience. Survivors often find themselves in similar situations, relationships, or with the same types of people, repeatedly, without recognition. For some survivors, the repetition manifests by victimizing others in an effort to bring resolution to the trauma. However, it seldom resolves the trauma and often intensifies and deepens the traumatic wound.

7. Trauma Bond – Trauma Bond refers to a severely maladaptive co-dependency between a trauma victim and their abuser. It is often referred to as Stockholm Syndrome wherein victims of a botched bank robbery became incongruously bonded with their captors. The attachment can cause victims to distort reality, distrust their judgement, and guarantees more pain.

During my time in treatment I came to learn about my past traumas and how they have affected me. It was an enlightening exercise that illuminated many maladaptive coping strategies in response to traumas, some of which I was completely unaware. My scoring on the Trauma Response worksheet offered insights to my irrationalities of Trauma Blocking, Trauma Abstinence, and Trauma Shame, stemming for various traumatic events of my past.

I recently experienced a traumatic response while in the ER with my daughter. Hearing a clearly distraught toddler crying for relief and screeching in agony immediately transported me back to the vicarious trauma of my infant daughter's HLH battle. My heart was racing, my breathing was labored, my hands and legs were shaking, my brain could not focus. At a certain point I thought I was going to pass out. I was desperate for a cigarette, after 5 months of quitting - Trauma Blocking.

I knew I had to calm myself down, but mindful breathing wasn’t working. The only technique I could think of in my trauma brain state was yoga. I began a sequence of yoga poses and focused my concentration on the movements and transitions. After a few minutes, my breathing began to normalize, my heart rate slowed and my thoughts rationalized. It was a harsh reminder of that difficult time, and I felt completely transported back to the initial hospital visits when we were desperately trying to figure out what was happening. I’m grateful that I’ve learned skills to cope and manage the trauma better, as I know these PTS incidents will never subside.

Whatever the cause of your trauma, and whether it happened years ago or yesterday, you can make healing changes and move on with your life. With a trauma-informed lens, we can acknowledge that we are experiencing trauma brain. The solution then shifts from “how can I deal with it” to “how can I get out of this state of mind.”

When we explore these self-destructive behaviors, we can learn to view them as learned responses. This approach can help us to be more understanding, compassionate, and empathetic as we move toward healing. By viewing problematic, unhelpful, or self-sabotaging behaviors as trauma-based, we can unpack our motivations for acting or thinking in a certain way and begin to heal from our trauma through change and growth.

Recovery doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It simply means it no longer controls you. I hope you will join me in learning to use new skills and strategies to face your ghosts and overcome your recurring nightmares. Stay tuned for more!

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