In recent years, trauma has become a common word in our culture. Amazing progress has been made as a result of the increased awareness around trauma, but there have been some downsides to that as well. What is trauma? While there are a variety of symptoms,
the underlying key feature is the same. Trauma is when we experience an event or time period in our lives that is so overwhelming that it surpasses the brain’s ability to cope. This forces it to completely restructure itself in order to tolerate these events. While this restructuring is often lifesaving at the time, the brain does not revert to its default setting after the traumatic events end. In essence, a person who has endured trauma is living in the present with a brain that is processing normal, everyday events as if they are the overwhelming experiences of the past.
Over the past 25 years, there has been tremendous advancement in the understanding and proper treatment of trauma. This advancement, along with the resulting growing awareness of the impact of trauma, has helped transform the lives of trauma survivors.
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