TRAUMA

What is trauma? R. Flannery Jr. describes trauma as “the state of severe fright that we experience when we are confronted with a sudden, unexpected, potentially life-threatening event over which we have no control and to which we are unable to respond effectively, no matter how hard we try.”

We find that there are 2 main types of trauma: ‘Large T’ trauma includes natural disasters, fires, major motor vehicle accidents, death of a loved one, history of sexual or physical abuse, victims of crime or life-threatening illnesses.

‘Small t’ trauma includes adverse life experiences that affect self-esteem and beliefs about others as well as self-confidence or self-worth. These may include childhood bullying, experiences of humiliation or extreme embarrassment, divorce, betrayals or growing up with serious parental conflict.