About Trauma & Humiliation

What is Trauma?

Trauma is what many people experience after distressing life changing events, such as combat, sexual assault, abuse, automobile accidents, natural disasters, violent crime etc. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may take months or even years to develop after such events. Humiliation, especially when experienced in childhood, will often influence our self-perception and thus, shapes our identity - often as much as major events.

The Effects of Trauma & Humiliation

Trauma & humiliation are stored in our neural systems along with images surrounding events, negative self-beliefs about ourselves that we normally know are not true, emotions and body sensations experienced at the time of the traumatic event. Trauma networks are isolated from the positive things we normally know to be true about ourselves. Trauma networks are re-activated when triggered by something similar to the original event, such as a backfire for a combat veteran or particular cologne for a sexual assault victim. When these networks are re-activated, the person will experience all of the thoughts and sensations that they did around the original event, essentially leaving them re-traumatized. Frequently, the person will not even be aware of what is being triggered. This will occur over and over in a variety of situations until the original trauma is resolved. Therapeutic help is often necessary to resolve such trauma.

Typical Trauma & Humiliation Responses

Repetitive intrusive distressing memories and/or images of things related to a traumatic event
Recurrent nightmares related to a traumatic event
Flashbacks or feeling like one is reliving a distressing event
Emotionally and/or physically triggered by something similar to some aspect of a distressing event
Negative beliefs about self, contrary to evidence that they are untrue
Inability to recall important aspects of a traumatic event
Avoiding conversations, thoughts, feelings about a distressing event or events that are similar to it
Avoiding activities that are reminders of a distressing event
Feeling detached from others
Diminished interest in normal activities
Not feeling the normal range of emotions
Sense of shaky future in various areas
Overly watchful or hypervigilant
Exaggerated startle response
Irritability or outbursts of anger
Sleep and/or concentration difficulties

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