Almost everyone who experiences trauma will be emotionally affected, and there are many different ways in which people will respond. Most people may recover quickly with the help of family and friends. For some, the effects can be long-lasting.
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Types of Trauma
The “types” of trauma below help us understand how different people may be affected by trauma. They are just some of the forms of trauma that people experience, and are not exhaustive.
Single incident trauma or “acute” trauma occurs when a person is exposed to one traumatic event, such as a car accident, an experience of loss, natural disaster, or physical or sexual assault.
Complex trauma occur during childhood or adulthood. It describes the experience of repeated traumatic events, such as abuse or neglect, or social trauma such as war or cultural dislocation.
Vicarious trauma occur when someone hears or is exposed to another person’s trauma. It commonly occurs in people who work in challenging environments, such as counsellors or paramedics
Intergenerational trauma is the experience of trauma that is passed down through the generations, from the survivors who directly experienced or witnessed the traumatic events.
Trauma in Australia
What can trigger trauma?
Almost everyone who experiences trauma will be emotionally affected, and there are many different ways in which people will respond. Most people may recover quickly with the help of family and friends. For some, the effects can be long-lasting.
Traumatic experiences and triggers for an individual may include:
- A serious accident
- Physical assault
- Being involved in war – either as a civilian or as part of military operations
- Being involved in a natural disaster, such as a bushfire, flood or cyclone
- Sexual assault or abuse
- Being in other similar serious situations
The Impacts of Trauma
Many of the common immediate responses can include things like:
- Confusion
- Sadness
- Anxiety or fear
- Agitation
- Anger
- Numbness and detachment
- Denial
- Embarrassment
- Guilt or shame
- Helplessness or feeling out of control
- Nightmares and spontaneous flashbacks.
Common physical symptoms that people experiencing trauma often experience include:
- Nausea or dizziness
- Altered sleep patterns, sometimes severely and to the point of being unable to sleep
- Changes in appetite
- Headaches
- Gastrointestinal problems, which can often be quite severe and lead to an inability to properly digest food
- Being easily startled or always “on-edge”
Some examples of delays reactions include:
- Mood swings, including irritability
- Feeling more fragile or vulnerable
- Grief
- Fears of recurrence
- Emotional detachment
- Increased arousal and vigilance
- Self-blame or guilt
- Preoccupation with the events that took place
- Difficulties making decisions
- Problems with school, work and relationships
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - see further below
- Recognised mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety
- dissociation (or feeling numb, cut off or disconnected to your feelings)
- substance use
Many of the longer-term impacts of trauma can come in the form of specific mental health conditions but also practical problems that an impacted person may find themselves involved in. Between the two of these, they include the following conditions or phenomena, among others:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): After the experience of a traumatic event, a person suffering PTSD will experience four main types of problems
- Depression: Depression is a common reaction after trauma
- Anxiety: Many people experience extreme worry, fear and anxiety both during and after a traumatic event
- Other mental and physical health conditions: Including psychosis, schizophrenia, eating disorders, personality disorders, and others
- Alcohol & Substance abuse: Alcohol and drugs may help block out painful emotions and memories in the short term, but they get in the way of recovery
- Life & relationship impacts: Mental health problems resulting from a traumatic event can have a significant impact on family, social and work life.
Intergenerational Trauma
Survivors of war, refugees and other disadvantaged people
This type of trauma is passed down from the first generation of survivors who directly experienced or witnessed traumatic events to future generations. This is referred to as intergenerational trauma, and can be passed on through parenting practices, behavioural problems, violence, harmful substance use and mental health issues.
Psychologists are only beginning to properly understand how traumatic effects may be transmitted across generations. Studies have looked at various traumatic and cataclysmic events which have left an incredible scar on people across generations, including for instance:
- Colonial dispossession of indigenous populations (including in Australia)
- Genocidal events such as the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 and the Bosnian Genocide
- Exodus and refugee movement triggered by wars, including civil wars
More Resources:
- Australians Together: Intergenerational trauma in the Australian Context
- Healing Foundation: Understanding intergenerational trauma
Healing, Recovery & Resilience
Looking after yourself and getting support following a traumatic event is vital and what will work for you may not do another person. Below are some suggestions on how to cope with exposure to a traumatic event or to the different forms of trauma discussed above.
Here’s what you need to do!
Acknowledge that you have been through a traumatic event and that having any physical or emotional reaction is not only normal but healthy and part of the healing process.
Connecting with others that you feel safe and supported by is crucial, even if hard. This includes talking to family, friends, a counsellor, religious leader or a crisis line or other such people who can help you better understand your experiences and find ways to recover.
Expressing your feelings as they arise is important. Discussing them with someone else writing them down in a diary often helps the healing process significantly.
Reaching out for professional, formal support from a health professional you trust is crucial. This may be your GP, psychologist, psychiatrist, counsellor or social worker. It often takes time to find the right person for you: those you can open up to and truly explore your reactions and feelings with. But it is important to persist because once people find the right professional, the difference made can be drastically positive.
Looking after yourself by eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep critical. These activities give your body the chance to recuperate and recover. The physical component of healing is important, as the right physical circumstances help our brains create the right neural connections needed to teach us new habits and ways of being. Take time out to relax and do things you used to enjoy, even if you don’t feel like it.
Avoid the use of alcohol, drugs, prescription medication or other substances as a way of avoiding difficult thoughts and feelings. This can be a tempting short-term route, but can often only create more long-term pain. Instead, it is important to seek out professional help to create the roadmap to your own recovery and resilience.
Often-times, recovery from trauma does not look like a complete disappearance of the feelings and negative emotions that one experiences. Rather, it also includes resilience: the act of being able to withstand and deal with these emotions and feelings but without being overwhelmed by them.
Resilience comes with the right support and treatments in place, giving you the chance to come to terms with what has happened and develop the mechanisms to cope. It is critical, then, to seek out the professional avenues that help us chart the course to resilience.
- In-person services
- Your GP is always the best place to start. They can refer you to a trained psychologist or psychiatrist, depending on your needs. You can find a GP in Australia in your area here.
- You can specifically find a psychologist from the Australian Psychological Society website here.
- The Black Dog Institute’s psychology clinic offers psychological services for a range of mental health issues and illnesses including trauma and PTSD.
- Online resources and courses
The following e-mental health programs or resources have been researched, developed and tested in Australia:
- Phoenix Australia: An excellent resource that focuses on trauma and PTSD, both in terms of understanding it and overcoming it. Visit here.
- THISWAYUP – Experts at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney developed the THISWAYUP e-mental health programs. They include an online PTSD treatment course for people who’ve been feeling symptoms for more than 4 weeks after a traumatic event.
- myCompass – The Black Dog Institute developed the myCompass program as an interactive self-help service to promote resilience and wellbeing for all Australians.
- OnTrack – OnTrack offers free access to online programs, information, quizzes and advice to support the Australian community in achieving mental and physical health and wellbeing.
- Head to health has more information on e-mental health programs and support services.
- Resources specific to young people
Online resources for young people include:
- BITE BACK – Developed by Black Dog Institute, BITE BACK is an ever-changing space which aims to improve the wellbeing and mental fitness of 12–18 year olds, based on the principles of positive psychology.
- eHeadspace – eHeadspace is a confidential, free, anonymous, secure space where 15–25 year olds can chat, email or speak with qualified youth mental health professionals.
- ReachOut – ReachOut is a mental health website for people under 25.
- Youth beyondblue – Youth beyondblue provides mental health education and links to phone support for 12–25 year olds.
Suicide & CALD communities: Addressing the issue
CALD and migrant communities have diverse views of suicide and suicidal thinking, and vary in the way that their community, family and friends respond to suicide.
Often, a strong stigma surrounds the individual experiencing suicidal behaviours that may also affect their family, carer, friends and community.
Spiritual and religious beliefs can sometimes contribute to this stigma, as well as social understanding and attitude toward mental health and suicide within a particular cultural community.
