Psychological trauma

Psychological trauma (also known as mental trauma, psychiatric trauma, emotional damage, or psychotrauma) is an emotional response caused by severe distressing events that are outside the normal range of human experiences. It must be understood by the affected person as directly threatening the affected person or their loved ones generally with death, severe bodily injury, or sexual violence; indirect exposure, such as from watching television news, may be extremely distressing and can produce an involuntary and possibly overwhelming physiological stress response, but does not produce trauma per se. Examples of distressing events include violence, rape, or a terrorist attack.^[1]

Short-term reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typically followed. Long-term reactions and effects include bipolar disorder, uncontrollable flashbacks, panic attacks, insomnia, nightmare disorder, difficulties with interpersonal relationships, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Physical symptoms including migraines, hyperventilation, hyperhidrosis, and nausea are often developed.^[2]

As subjective experiences differ between individuals, people react to similar events differently. Most people who experience a potentially traumatic event do not become psychologically traumatized, though they may be distressed and experience suffering.^[3] Some will develop PTSD after exposure to a traumatic event, or series of events.^[4][5] This discrepancy in risk rate can be attributed to protective factors some individuals have, that enable them to cope with difficult events, including temperamental and environmental factors, such as resilience and willingness to seek help.^[6]

Psychotraumatology is the study of psychological trauma.