Psychological shock. Traumatic separation from an attachment figure

is the harm caused to a person by society. Due to many reasons and external factors a person may develop a trauma that he will not be able to overcome on his own. As a rule, psychological trauma requires the participation of a psychologist. The consequences of psychological trauma are sometimes so severe that a person needs a lot of time to cope with himself and stop focusing on own feelings Oh. Psychological trauma has been compared to deep wound, which does not heal over time, but continues to bleed.

Symptoms of psychological trauma

What signs can be used to determine what a person is experiencing? psychological trauma? Any injury, no matter what factors it is caused by, affects a person’s perception of the world. The presence of trauma fundamentally changes the attitude towards life and the ability to perceive the surrounding reality. What feelings does a person with psychological trauma experience? What are the main symptoms of injury?

Revisiting a traumatic event

A person who has trauma will return to negative experiences repeatedly. This happens completely uncontrollably, in this way the subconscious tries to free itself from traumatic impressions. A person begins to be haunted by fears, intrusive thoughts. As soon as he finds himself in a similar situation, the event that led to the formation of psychological trauma immediately arises in his memory. It is known that this kind of injury is dangerous not in itself, but because of its negative consequences. It is impossible to predict what a particular injury will lead to. Psychological trauma forces a person to experience the same event over and over again. There is an immersion in the problem, detachment from the outside world.

Feeling Useless

Experiencing trauma greatly affects the emotional sphere. A person often feels depressed; it seems to him that no one needs him. On this basis, apathy and a sense of personal exclusivity often develop. Isolation, anxiety, distrust of others are not full list signs of psychological trauma. The person experiences so much heartache that doesn't know how to deal with it. Gradually, he loses faith in his own capabilities and prospects, withdraws into his own inner world and sensations. Psychological trauma deprives a person of moral strength and self-confidence, and makes a person consider himself a failure. Feeling of uselessness is the key concept here. The individual does not know where he could apply himself; he is afraid to act actively.

Types of psychological trauma

Psychological trauma includes several types of mental shocks, which differ in the power of their psychological impact. Trauma is destructive in itself, but different types injuries may indicate an existing specific injury. Depending on the types of psychological trauma, appropriate assistance should be selected. Help should begin with awareness of the problem situation. If a person does not recognize the presence of a destructive conflict in himself, it is impossible to help him.

Childhood trauma

In terms of frequency of occurrence and strength of destructive impact, it is the strongest. Childhood trauma leaves an indelible imprint on consciousness and affects the rest of life. The most interesting thing is that almost every person has one. Sometimes we simply don’t notice how we plunge into hopeless melancholy, suffer from loneliness and misunderstanding. In fact big influence We are affected by psychological trauma acquired in childhood. Such trauma forces one to look for confirmation of one’s own need and importance in literally everything. Childhood trauma is accompanied by unconscious actions and experiences. One of the most characteristic features The presence of childhood trauma is a constant expectation of betrayal and misunderstanding on the part of loved ones. As a rule, childhood trauma is inflicted on us by parents, relatives, and the first social environment. It is good when a child has the opportunity to speak his feelings out loud, rather than hush them up. Thus, it becomes possible to at least reduce the destructive effect of the injury.

Losing a loved one

The loss of a loved one is one of the most serious shocks one can experience in life. We will never face our own death, but the passing of a person dear to our hearts hurts so much that it seems that there is not a single living thread left in our soul. This is how psychological trauma is formed, which for a long time does not allow you to fully live and enjoy the manifestations of life. The loss of a loved one does not necessarily mean their passing away. Sometimes a long separation or a broken relationship can take a toll personality, making her withdrawn and distrustful. As a result, a person will be somewhat biased towards people and be wary of meeting new people.

The loss of a loved one causes more trauma the more the person is considered unsuccessful in life. If in an adult it causes grief and pain of loss, then in a child it will turn into a real nightmare from which there will be no escape. When trust is broken, it becomes very difficult to trust another person again, to reveal your true feelings and needs to him. This kind of injury makes itself felt for quite a long time.

Disasters

Sometimes events happen in life over which a person has no control. Natural disasters and catastrophes have a powerful destructive effect on the body. From sudden all-consuming experiences nervous system exhausted, numerous fears and doubts appear. Any disaster leads to psychological trauma. If something happens to another person before your eyes, you are unlikely to remain calm and calm. As a rule, most people have compassion and empathy. Empathic listening can reduce the destructive effects of trauma and help cope with the problem.

How to survive psychological trauma

Whatever the causes of psychological trauma, it is important to know how to survive it. Those who have encountered this unbearable pain, know that no injury can be healed in one day. It takes a lot of effort to help yourself cope with its devastating consequences. As a rule, you have to work with an injury for a long time, until full recovery peace of mind.

Confessing your feelings

The big problem many people have is that they are afraid to talk about their feelings. Some people don’t want to be seen as weak and therefore don’t say what they really feel. This approach tends to worsen the injury rather than cure it. Recognizing your feelings will help you free yourself from the pressure of a negative event and reduce its destructive effect.

Some people find it difficult to talk about their own feelings. This feeling arises when, from childhood, a person is squeezed into the framework imposed on him and is afraid to enter into an open, confidential conversation with other people. In this case, you have to learn to articulate emotions; you cannot hide them. There is nothing wrong with admitting what we really feel: anger, pain, guilt, disappointment, fear. Psychological trauma requires increased attention.

Description of the problem

After a person has decided on his feelings, he needs to begin describing the problem that worries him. Correction of injury begins from this moment. Try to determine what was really happening at the moment when something out of the ordinary happened. The description of the problem includes a detailed statement of facts and an analysis of one’s own feelings. Compilation full picture of what happened will help to get to the reasons for what happened. No matter how painful it is, it must be realized and accepted in order to learn some positive lesson. Psychological trauma is too serious a thing to try to ignore.

Separating yourself from pain

When unsuccessful, most people associate their own personality with the oppressive problem. That is, a person is rarely able to separate the acquired trauma from his inner essence. We sometimes become so immersed in the problem that we stop noticing the reality around us. It is human nature to become fixated on what brought him the greatest disappointment and mental confusion. Helping yourself is about learning to separate yourself from the pain that is in this moment dominates your consciousness. Just understand that this is not forever and the current situation is just a short moment that will end soon.

Art therapy

Using this method you can get rid of the consequences of injury. As a rule, a person who has experienced psychological trauma needs to be listened to. The need to be heard is key in this matter. By drawing disturbing moments, you reflect your internal conflict on paper. The pain that has prevented you from living for a long time and kept you from enjoying yourself will gradually go away. Art therapy is recognized throughout the world as an effective method for treating severe emotional disorders. You can fight psychological trauma by picking up a pencil and paper.

Forecast for the future

It must be compiled in order to help yourself. Until you see where to move next, it will be difficult to move past internal conflict and overcome the consequences of trauma. If you sit in one place and endlessly feel sorry for yourself, nothing good will come of it. Try to predict the future result: think about how to live next. In this case, the main emphasis should be placed not on all-consuming pain, but on one’s own hobbies, activities, and interests. This approach will allow you to free yourself from oppressive experiences and outline the necessary steps for yourself towards complete mental recovery.

Thus, psychological trauma is a problem that must be addressed. This is a serious internal task, by solving which you can reach a completely new level of development and cultivate the qualities of a strong person.

Psychological trauma (short designation - psychotrauma) is a theoretical construct used to name a certain harm caused to the psycho-emotional state of an individual.

The essence of psychological trauma

Today, there is no single definition of this term and there are no clear criteria by which one can differentiate psychotrauma from other harmful factors. However, most people, including professional psychologists, by the term “psychological trauma” mean that some traumatic event has taken place in the life of an individual, or that the person is affected by any external or internal factors causing damage mental health or depriving one of mental balance.

Due to such vagueness and vagueness in the definition, many academic minds attribute the term “psychological trauma” to pseudoscientific, everyday concepts, preferring to use a more precise construct: “a condition that arises as a result of a traumatic event and the influence of stressful or frustrating factors.”

It is worth noting that psychological trauma in its essence is fundamentally different from the phenomenon of “mental trauma.” The concept of “mental trauma” refers to real, objectively confirmed harm caused to the psyche by someone or something, which caused a malfunction in the functioning of the psyche, leading to dysfunction of the higher nervous activity person. The consequence of mental trauma is noticeable, clearly expressed disorders normal operation psyche. For example: a person experiences “gaps” in memory, he stops recognizing relatives, cannot express his thoughts clearly and logically, and loses the ability to evaluate, analyze, and compare the phenomena of reality.

Psychological trauma does not bring such catastrophic consequences for the psyche. The person remains capable and adequate. He maintains a critical view of his condition. After psychological trauma, an individual is able to adapt to society. Changes determined in the emotional, volitional, cognitive, mnestic spheres of the psyche are not global, dynamic and reversible. In fact, mental defects that have arisen, for example: the inability to concentrate attention or, are a reflection of an unstable or depressed psycho-emotional state, and not a consequence of destructive mental lesions.

The concept of “psychological trauma” includes both long-term, weakly expressed unfavorable circumstances and sudden intense negative factors absolutely any content. However, hypothetically, these phenomena can cause mental illness, manifested both in a change in the emotional background and in the appearance of abnormal behavior in a person who is objectively recognized as mentally healthy. Due to the lack of clear criteria, any event that causes a strong emotional reaction of a negative color can be interpreted as psychological trauma.

It is assumed that psychological trauma can initiate the development of borderline mental states and the formation of neurotic level disorders, including:

anxious-phobic (obsessive fears);
obsessive-compulsive (and ritual actions);
conversion (hysteria);
asthenic();
affective (depression).

However, in this context, the concept of “psychological trauma” is identical to the result of a difficult (stressful) situation, that is, it is a state of overload of the mental regulation system. It is in connection with this that the main consequences of psychotrauma are observed: harmony in the inner world of the subject disappears, the balance between the personality and the human environment is disrupted.

The phenomenon of “psychotrauma” has achieved the greatest study and distribution within the framework of the study of the causes and manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder. Adherents of crisis psychology who have put forward and study pathogenetic mechanisms given pathology, interpret the term “psychotrauma” as an experienced mental shock as a result special conditions interaction between the individual and the surrounding world. Attempts have been made to describe the signs, causes and criteria of psychological trauma, which we'll talk Further.

Causes of psychological trauma

Possible circumstances that can cause psychological trauma include the following:

Group 1

Any one-time critical event that occurs suddenly, which the individual interprets as swipe. Examples of such crises are situations as a result of which a person received physical injury:

own sports, domestic, professional injury, which caused the loss of normal functionality of the body;
car accident that caused severe consequences for good health;
unexpected need for surgery;
serious viral or bacterial infection, chained a person to a bed in an intensive care unit;
attack by intruders resulting in physical injury;
injury or injury associated with the performance of professional duties (for example: burns received by a firefighter while eliminating a fire);
a sharp deterioration in health as a result of a natural disaster or military action.

Group 2

The causes of psychological trauma lie in unforeseen changes in a person’s usual way of life and living conditions, status and position in society. Examples of such situations are:

death of a close relative;
breaking up a relationship with a loved one;
divorce from spouse;
job loss;
the need to change the field of activity;
robbery, theft, fraudulent actions, as a result of which a person lost his means of subsistence;
rape;
unexpectedly incurred debts;
forced change living conditions or change of place of residence;
unexpected, accidental problems with the law (for example: hitting a drunk pedestrian).

Group 3

The cause of psychological trauma can also be chronic ones, which are significant in the individual, subjective perception of the individual. Examples of such “prolonged” stress can be:

imprisonment;
severe somatic illness;
conflicts in the family;
living with a drug addict spouse;
unfavorable psychological atmosphere at work;
disagreements with superiors, colleagues and subordinates;
sexual problems;
excessive overload and lack of rest.

However, it should be clarified: no matter what global difficulties and mental suffering a person experiences, stress does not necessarily provoke psychological trauma. In order for stressors to move into the category of psychotraumatic factors, the following conditions must be met.

Factor 1

Psychological trauma is characterized by the intrusive nature of memories: a person constantly mentally returns to the event that happened, analyzes the circumstances, and sees the present through the prism of a negative phenomenon. However, it is impossible in most cases to accurately separate when a negative perception of the world is the result of psychotrauma, and when it is a personality trait.

Factor 2

Personal involvement: the individual cannot separate himself and the traumatic event. A person is not able to distance himself from the problem, look at the situation that has happened from a different perspective, while maintaining calm and composure. That is, the individual identifies his personality with a negative phenomenon. However, such involvement cannot be unambiguously interpreted as an indicator of psychological trauma: many people simply do not have sufficient psychological knowledge and every little thing is interpreted as a personal drama.

Factor 3

The event that occurred causes serious changes in the psycho-emotional status and interferes with the natural process of self-development and self-improvement. In fact, the problem stops a person at the previous stage of development or returns him to a more low level. However, arrested development and a passive attitude towards life are characteristics of quite a few people. Therefore, this factor also cannot be unambiguously interpreted as a criterion of psychological trauma.

Other factors that could potentially cause psychological trauma include:

the person was not mentally prepared for a specific scenario;
the person felt his own powerlessness and could not prevent such a course of events;
the crisis was deliberately provoked by the people around him;
the individual came into contact with insensitivity, cruelty, violence, betrayal on the part of those people from whom he did not expect such actions;
the phenomenon required a colossal expenditure of psychic energy.

All of the above allows us to assert that psychological trauma is not a description of a specific episode, it is an indication of the presence of an acute emotional reaction of an individual to an event. That is, the more suffering, fear, and helplessness a person feels in some situation, the more catastrophic this traumatic event becomes for him, accordingly - more risk development of psychological trauma.

Signs of psychological trauma

What signs might indicate that a person has developed relationship trauma? Since psychotrauma is neither a disorder, nor a syndrome, nor a disease, but a very vague concept, no specific symptoms of this crisis can be identified. However, numerous examinations of people who described themselves as experiencing psychological trauma show that there are certain experiences, changes in areas of the psyche and behavior that are mechanisms for responding to distress. At the same time, a person does not react to a crisis: “right” or “wrong”, but feels, thinks, acts differently from the usual way, showing wide range various symptoms.

Signs of psychological trauma include:

a feeling of loss of personal security and a belief in the presence of a threat;
experiences of powerlessness, helplessness;
the appearance of irrational obsession;
the emergence of ideas of self-accusation and self-deprecation;
the emergence of self-destructive life scenarios, for example: suicidal ideas or alcoholism;
denial of the event;
feelings of resentment, anger, rage;
debilitating melancholy, feeling of hopelessness;
inability to concentrate, absent-mindedness;
inability to think of anything else as a crisis event;
loss of desire to act;
inability to enjoy the objectively pleasant phenomena of life;
voluntary complete seclusion from society;
global experience of loneliness, abandonment, uselessness.

The fact that a person has experienced psychotrauma can be reported by:

the appearance of sleep problems: insomnia, interrupted sleep, nightmares;
change in eating habits: compulsive overeating or complete failure from food;
vegetative signs: pressure surges, palpitations, tremors of limbs, profuse sweating;
appearance pain syndromes psychogenic in nature;
lack of logic in an individual’s actions, haste, fussiness, inconsistency;
inability to perform usual work due to difficulty concentrating;
rapid fatigue, irresistible fatigue even after prolonged leisure;
tearfulness, intense reactions to the smallest stimulus;
motor restlessness, desire to run somewhere;
loss of interest in the opposite sex.

Treatment of psychological trauma

With psychological trauma, the following statement is true: time - the best doctor. Indeed, over time, the grief experienced loses its relevance, the person returns to the usual rhythm of life. However, for many contemporaries, the process of recovery from psychological trauma is very difficult. Or instead of the desired balance, a person gets real neurotic or mental disorders requiring treatment.

All people, without exception, who have experienced a psychotraumatic situation, need to seek help. medical assistance, if the experience of psychological trauma lasts for more than three months. Clear signs of the need for treatment are:

depressed state and melancholy mood;
thoughts about the futility of life and ideas about death;
obsessive fear of loneliness;
total fear of death;
irrational anxiety, anticipation of an inevitable catastrophe;
insomnia or insomnia;
uncontrollable outbursts of aggression;
chronic painful sensations in the absence of organic disease;
loss of strength and other manifestations of asthenia;
sexual dysfunction;
seizures;
signs of anorexia or bulimia;
psychosensory disorders: and;
pronounced memory lapses;
motor excitement;
violation of social adaptation;
appearance obsessive forms behavior.

It is necessary to urgently begin treatment of psychological trauma if a person demonstrates suicidal behavior or has developed harmful addictions: alcoholism, substance abuse, uncontrolled use of pharmacological drugs.

Depending on the nature of the psychological trauma, the symptoms demonstrated, the stage of development neurotic disorder the method of psychotherapeutic treatment is chosen. Good results in the treatment of the consequences of psychological trauma they show:

cognitive behavioral psychotherapy;
Gestalt therapy;
neurolinguistic programming;
psychosuggestive therapy;
methods of provocative therapy.

It should be taken into account that in a state an individual cannot help himself necessary help. Therefore, in times of crisis, adequate, competent, targeted assistance from an experienced specialist is extremely important. The insidiousness of psychological trauma is that its consequences may not be noticeable immediately, but after decades. At the same time, the depth of the impact of stress factors may lie outside the sphere of consciousness, and the presence of a real problem may be invisible to a non-specialist. Psychological help, and, if necessary, treatment, will allow you to overcome psychological trauma more quickly and minimize the risk of developing a dangerous mental disorder.

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What is psychological trauma and when does it occur? (Video)

Psychological trauma is a reaction to life circumstances that leads to long-term emotional experiences of a negative nature. If a person experiences an external event too much, it can lead to the development of psychological trauma. In this case, an event can be either really dangerous and scary, for example, a disaster or the loss of a loved one, or very harmless, like a conflict at work or disappointment in a friend.

The reaction to circumstances does not depend on their severity, but on the person’s perception of the event. The same event for one person will be minor nuisance, for another - a disaster. Some people find it difficult to cope with problems, so the smallest troubles can become serious for them.

Unresolved psychological trauma can lead to increased anxiety, depression and panic attacks.

If a situation seems so difficult to a person that he does not know how to cope with it and sees it as a threat to his entire way of life or life itself, or the situation destroys his idea of his life, it can trigger the development of psychological trauma. When a person feels that he is losing ground under his feet, sees that his life is being destroyed, he stops perceiving the world as something reliable or real and loses confidence in himself and his future. Live normal life It’s no longer easy for such a person.

Consequences of injury for humans

What happens to a person who has experienced psychological trauma? This largely depends on the injury, but there are also common features for all victims. In the post-traumatic period, the majority internal forces people are directed to forget what happened. Gradually, if the traumatic factor is removed, everything connected with it is forgotten, all feelings and sensations are repressed. But the traumatic experience remains in the psyche.

What does this mean? This means that as soon as something similar to a traumatic event occurs in external events or another event occurs that can cause, all negative memories will come flooding back. new strength. This can lead to a strong emotional outburst, feelings will surge with renewed vigor, and it is very difficult to predict a person’s reaction and the consequences of this reaction.

The first aid for psychological trauma is to create a feeling of safety, which is why disaster victims often have a blanket thrown over their heads.

If the traumatic experience is repressed and enclosed in a kind of capsule, then it begins to slowly destroy the person’s psyche, and then his body. Repressed psychological trauma creates a semblance of internal conflict between the existing personality and the traumatized personality. At a subconscious level, a person tries to forget part of his “I”. This takes a lot of energy and interferes with normal life, slows down personal development and leads to the occurrence of psychosomatic diseases.

Diagnostics

Very often one can encounter a disdainful attitude towards psychological trauma and its consequences. But no one can argue with the fact that psychological trauma greatly influences a person’s future life and can shape his opinion and influence his actions.

It is not easy for a non-specialist to diagnose the presence of psychological trauma, but there are some symptoms that will allow one to suspect it. These symptoms include:

feeling weak, depressed, angry or resentful, distracted and unable to concentrate;
constant discomfort, including physical;
reluctance to do something and apathy;
an overwhelming feeling of the futility of any action and hopelessness.

In addition, you can suspect psychological trauma if you know about the presence of the very unfavorable factor that can provoke it. Also, the presence of trauma is indicated by constant avoidance of situations that directly or indirectly remind of the unpleasant situation that provoked it.

It is very important to help the victim of psychological trauma get rid of feelings of guilt.

There are also indirect symptoms that usually occur against the background of psychological trauma and will help in their diagnosis. These include feelings of anxiety or guilt, drowsiness, alienation or unmotivated outbursts of aggression, periodic panic attacks, mood swings or depression, as well as general unexplained physical illness.

If your loved one has experienced severe psychological trauma, and you want to help him cope with this problem, be prepared for long and hard work. And remember - it is your support that can be the decisive factor that will help healing.

The first thing you need when treating psychological trauma is patience. Be prepared for the fact that it will take a lot of time, and the pace of recovery is purely individual. You cannot judge the reaction of the injured person by your own or someone else’s; everything here is very individual.

The second is practical support. It is possible that it will not be easy for a person to solve the most common everyday problems, for example, buying groceries or paying bills, so you will have to help him with this. Try to help him gradually return to ordinary life, but without pressure.

Third, do not demand that the person tell you about his experiences. It is possible that it is too difficult for him to talk about it. He will definitely talk when he comes to it and at this moment you need to be ready to listen. It is very important that a person knows that he will always be listened to and always understood.

Psychological trauma can be prevented by seeking help immediately after the traumatic event, before the first sleep.

Help your loved one recover physically, get more rest and communicate. Encourage his desire for physical activity and any action.

Don't take symptoms of injury personally. The person may become irritable or aggressive, withdrawn or distant emotionally. This in most cases does not mean that there is anything wrong with you or that you are doing something wrong. Most likely, this is simply a consequence of the injury.

How to cope with psychotrauma on your own

In some cases, a person can help themselves cope with trauma. But for this you need to try hard and follow our advice.

After an injury, you cannot isolate yourself. Isolating yourself from other people and constantly thinking about the problem will only make the situation worse. Learn to ask for support. It is very important not to close yourself off, but to open up to a loved one. This could be a relative, friend, loved one, or a priest you trust.

Try to participate in social activities and live an active and “normal” life. You need to try to just do normal things, far from the traumatic experience. If you have lost friends due to injury, try to reconnect, this will help you get back to life faster. Sometimes talking to people who have experienced similar traumas helps.

It is very important not to lose touch with reality after an injury. People often feel like the whole world has ceased to exist after their life has changed. In order not to lose “connection with the earth”, it is important to lead a normal lifestyle, adhere to a stable daily routine, work, and try to learn something new. Find an activity that will bring you pleasure, you can attend some courses or clubs, choose a new hobby. Allow yourself to feel your pain without losing touch with reality in order to understand that there is pain, but there is also life after it.

Treatment of psychological trauma is a long process that can take years.

It is very important after psychological trauma to pay enough attention physical health. You can start studying. This will help prevent the exacerbation of chronic diseases and the development of psychosomatic diseases due to stress. In addition, regular physical activity will allow you to feel your body and not lose touch with reality.

Mental trauma is the body’s reaction to a traumatic event, as excessive and exceeding in strength the mental load of the body’s resources necessary to experience it.

The cause of injury can be any acutely emotional stressful situation that is significant for a person: acts of violence, sexual attacks, death or serious illness of loved ones, one’s own illness, transport accidents, captivity, wars, terrorist attacks, natural and man-made disasters, and many other extreme situations.

In fact, any event experienced as a kind of crisis, provided that a person’s mental capabilities for processing and assimilation are not enough, entails mental stuckness at one or another stage of the crisis. Unexpressed, stopped and accumulated tension in the body and psyche is displaced into the unconscious and begins to live and affect a person as mental trauma. In a bodily metaphor, this is an inflamed abscess that becomes crusty on the surface and destroys the tissues of the body from the inside.

According to Peter Levine traumatic symptoms arise as a result of the accumulation of residual energy that was mobilized during a meeting with a traumatic event and did not find a way out and discharge. The point of trauma symptoms is to hold on to this residual energy. (It is important to say that any of the stressful events listed above may not entail a consequence in the form of mental trauma, provided that the person has enough internal capabilities for recovery). A person exposed to a traumatic event is not necessarily a direct participant in it; sometimes indirect participation, the position of a witness to someone else’s violence, can lead to injury. Even in the form of watching a report about terrorist act on TV.

Injuries can be acute (shock) or chronic. The first include often one-time cases of very strong and sudden traumatization and stopping of excitement and experience at the level of shock. Such an injury may long years to be forgotten and remembered when similar events repeat in a person’s life. Or the person dissociates his experiences and avoids talking about the trauma so that the stopped feelings do not reveal themselves.

Often, shock trauma unfolds during therapy as self-sensitivity increases and the person begins to “unfreeze” in places in his experience where he previously had reliable anesthesia.

The difficulty in defining chronic trauma is that it consists of a large series of traumatic events that are weaker in strength, but repeated over a long period of time and also reduce a person’s overall sensitivity. For example: regular punishment with physical violence is often perceived as “the norm” by adult victims.

The most common signs of mental trauma:

1) The presence of a traumatic, tragic event, experienced in an objective or subjective state of helplessness or horror, or aggravating life conditions that negatively affect a person for a long time.

2) Returning, sudden memories of what happened (nightmares, “flashbacks”). Sometimes the memories are fragmentary: smells, sounds, bodily sensations that at first glance have nothing to do with the experience.

3) Avoiding anything that resembles or may resemble trauma. For example, an adult who was beaten under a blanket as a child may be afraid to ride in an elevator, because in an enclosed space it becomes difficult for him to breathe and an almost physical sensation of pain and horror appears. The avoidance attitude often increases over time.

4) Increased excitability and timidity. Any new situation requires a lot of effort to adapt, causing severe anxiety, even if not related to injury. The autonomic nervous system regulates vital functions survival in humans is in constant readiness for alarm. It's like a motor running at full speed but not moving a meter.

These four signs form a picture of the disorder, which is externally expressed as anxiety disorder caused by exposure to a traumatic event.

Mental trauma manifests itself in the form of a violation of the integrity of the functioning of the human psyche, when a significant part of the mental material is repressed or dissociated, the result is internal splitting. Trauma disrupts the normative mental organization and can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders non-psychotic (neuroses) and psychotic (reactive psychoses) types, called psychogenics by Jaspers.

Here we are talking about border or clinical conditions, which are characterized by both a stable weakening of immunity, working capacity and adaptive thinking abilities, and more complex changes (post-traumatic effect with justification) that are harmful to a person’s health and social life, leading to psychosomatic diseases and neuroses. Psychogenies are considered as the formation of experiences during development mediated by the entire personality (at the conscious and unconscious levels). pathological forms psychological defenses or their breakdown.

Due to the fact that mental trauma entails in its own way some pathological adaptation of the body in the form of building excessive psychological defenses, traumatization can contribute to disruption of connections between the psyche and body. So that the latter simply “ceases to be felt,” which ultimately leads to a loss of connection with reality. Psychotherapy effectively helps restore this connection.

Work with trauma is aimed at ending the traumatic reaction, discharging remaining energy and restoring impaired self-regulation processes. Often, people who have experienced trauma are accompanied by a high degree of bodily tension, which may be poorly understood. In an attempt to cope, a person, defending himself from fear, loses control over his body and psyche by suppressing and repressing his feelings. Free verbalization, awareness and response to feelings promote healing. There is a deep acceptance of what was not previously accepted - traumatic experiences, attitudes towards the consequences of what happened are given the opportunity not to be suppressed, but to be transformed. A new attitude towards the traumatic event and towards oneself is developed. Psychotherapy allows you to assimilate this difficult experience and integrate it into your picture of the world, to develop new adaptation mechanisms for future life, taking into account the trauma experienced.

Levine views trauma as an existential given human existence, his existence, which must be accepted, experienced and transformed for the benefit of himself and his life.

This article is about psychological trauma. Symptoms such as sleep disturbances, anxiety, addictions, and anhedonia are the first signs that you should pay attention to. Especially if they were preceded by any stress.

A one-time consultation with a psychologist or long-term assistance in case of injury is important, and often simply necessary. But you can study some of the psychologist’s advice in advance and be fully prepared.

Often people consult a psychologist after some kind of stress or stressful event that a person could not cope with: death, divorce, attack, accident, etc. In other words, when a person receives psychological trauma. So what is trauma?

Trauma is not the event itself, but a condition caused by some event that is outside the scope of normal human experience. Moreover, an event can have the most profound effect on a person. in different ways:

1) have no influence;

2) the person becomes overly aggressive;

3) a person changes significantly in character and changes almost forever. The third criterion definitely indicates the presence of trauma.

When I think about the nature of trauma, this is what I think about. Being confident that the universe was originally designed in the best way, I think about the question: why does evolution need trauma? After all, at first glance, this is a sign of an imperfect structure of the human psyche - in particular and the world - in general.

If we draw a parallel with physical trauma, it turns out that psychological trauma is a mechanism for human improvement, because the weak fails/dies, but the strongest survive and pass on their genes.

Thus, a person who has managed to process trauma receives personal and spiritual growth. One can be distinguished from the other by comparing which is greater - pain or experience. Those who have more pain than experience are traumatic with all that that entails; those who have more experience are people who have managed to adapt and develop a coping strategy.

There are several factors involved in injury. And if it is impossible to prepare for some of them (suddenness, lack of similar experience), then some can either be foreseen or stopped.

For example:

1. Duration: than more people is in a traumatic situation, the greater the likelihood of injury. Therefore, the first thing we do is remove him from this situation (“take the victim away from the battlefield”).

2. The focus of trauma is a loss of control - real or perceived. The less control, the worse the consequences. In fact, practice shows that the victim is able to maintain control for a long time. Always double-check: I really can't do anything in this situation. Look for exits. Always.

3. Constant changes that are a source of constant stress (for example, the unpredictable behavior of a loved one). In this case, it is important to stabilize the environment in which the person is located so that he can find ground under his feet.

4. The scale of destruction: the larger the scale, the greater the injury. What has already suffered must be mourned. But if something has survived, then it is important to consider it as a resource that you can cling to and on which you can later rely.

Even if such a factor as surprise is difficult to foresee, still, teach your children and learn yourself to be prepared for various situations. Say them: What would you do if...? Such mental readiness at a decisive moment can become an automatic action and save the psyche or life itself.

During stressful events, a person reacts in three ways known to us: - fight, - run, - freeze. These methods are adaptive in nature. If the body uses the first two methods, then the injury is easier to survive. If the 3rd method is used, then there will almost always be an injury.

Moreover, an excessive response (when the reaction is greater than the stimulus that caused it) is an indicator of the presence of trauma. Why does this happen? Because a traumatized person often perceives a neutral stimulus as dangerous.

The same thing happens to him in relationships with people: safe people they are perceived as dangerous, and vice versa. Thus, trauma sufferers have constant perceptual errors.

If the psyche is unable to process the trauma, it hides it in the unconscious. To understand how this happens, I’ll give a metaphor: if you throw pebbles (trauma/s) into a glass of water (psyche), then the water level rises and the pressure increases.

In order to relieve pressure, symptoms appear. The symptom is The best way, which finds the body to cope with the problem. Symptoms can be both permanent and situational.

The whole variety of symptoms can be divided into:

Biological

Sleep disturbance.

A feeling of anxiety that is biological in nature.

Chronic tension in the body:

Autonomic disorders

At the same time, asthenia - when there is no longer the strength to endure constant stress

If the sexual sphere is captured by tension, then increased or decreased sexual activity

Characteristic: abuse chemicals(all types of chemical dependencies) – suffering is so intense that it requires painkillers.

Psychological (I will not list all, but the main ones)

A trance into which one periodically goes, including in conversation.

Dissociation in conjunction: BEHAVIOR – FEELINGS – SENSATIONS – KNOWLEDGE. Communication can be disrupted both between components and within any of the components. If FEELINGS are torn off, then, for example, a person may be calm during a funeral or talk about terrible event emotionless. If there is a gap in BEHAVIOR, then somewhere the behavior is normal, and somewhere it is unregulated. If KNOWLEDGE is torn away, then a person may not remember any moment of his life.

Helplessness, passivity, lack of initiative, powerlessness. This is the key moment of the injury!

There is nothing - no feelings, no desires, no experiences, no needs. This happens because when the psyche blocks something big (trauma), then small things (feelings, needs) also have no chance to break through.

Among psychological symptoms Also:

Alexithymia (inability of a person to name emotions)

Self-injury

Panic attacks

Feeling the world as unreal

Refusal of human contact

Anhedonia (lack of joy)

One of the ways a psychologist helps to process trauma is debriefing (97% of clients help). There are certain rules for its implementation:

Debriefing should only be about a specific event.

During the debriefing we ask questions:

What happened?

When? How?

What do you feel?

3. The value of subjectivity: the psychologist does not correct the victim’s description, even if he obviously exaggerates it. If an eyewitness to an event describes that the explosion was “deafening,” the psychologist does not correct him.

4. Non-judgmental and neutral listening.

5. Emotional support. Sympathy.

6. It is good if the debriefing is carried out before the first night.

In addition, debriefing is carried out:

a) After injury,

b) After a person has fallen into a crater of injury,

c) After remembering the trauma.

And one more advice from a psychologist: it is not advisable for children to watch horror and action films. Because you can get injured by not being a participant, but just a witness to traumatic events.

Take care of yourself and your loved ones.