glossary
Where does the word come from?traumaand what does it mean?
The word traumacomes from Greek and generally means injury, without specifying what caused it.
One serious psychological injury
In psychology, however, it is referred to as emotional, mental or psychotrauma.
At one Psychotrauma
our brain is overwhelmed.
The experiences and sensations cannot be processed normally, but are stored or stored in our brain in a disordered and therefore unprocessed manner.
How do psychotraumas occur?
Psychotrauma
arise when our brain is overwhelmed by the situation and what we have experienced.
This can be caused by experiencing an accident, a violent act, but also by a serious emotional injury.The loss of a loved one or animal can also be so emotionally overwhelming that psychological trauma occurs.
The feelings and physical sensations associated with the trauma can be caused by so-called
Triggers be activated again and again.
What are triggers?
Triggers
are triggers of positive and negative feelings and physical sensations.
The smell of a perfume reminds us of a loved one, a song evokes feelings of happiness from last summer.
However, triggers can also include negative feelings such as: B. trigger panic, fear, anger, uncertainty, sadness, pain, etc.
These triggers make evolutionary sense because they quickly remind us of dangers and warn us of them.
Triggered in non-dangerous situations, these triggers become stressful.Although there is no rational danger, our body reacts with the full force of our emotions.
Triggers can be sounds, images, objects, touch, smells or even words.
Why becomes a trauma not
processed?
Whether and how well a psychological trauma has been processed always depends on the mental state and stability of the individual person at the time of the trauma or afterwards.
Previous or unprocessed trauma and experiences can hinder or prevent processing.
Even years later, symptoms can appear that are often not associated with the original trauma. Or a trigger activates a past, unprocessed or original trauma.
How can unprocessed psychological trauma affect you after some time?
Unprocessed psychological trauma can also give rise to mental and emotional blockages or beliefs.
Mental blocks
are, above all, excessive brooding, going around in circles without finding a solution to a stressful problem, not being able to stop the thought carousel, not being able to express one's own needs, etc.
Emotional blocks
e.g. B. Fears, aggressions, anger, doubts, discouragement, listlessness,... i.e. unwanted, unpleasant and stressful feelings, which often have unconscious triggers.
Beliefs
are sentences or voices and “criticisms” in our head. "You can't do that!", "You don't even need to start!", "The next date will end just as badly!", "You'll fall off the horse again!", "You have two left feet!", "You "You were unsportsmanlike as a child!" etc.
If a belief is clear enough, it soon prevents us from doing everything and damages our self-confidence.