What Is Trauma?
I have heard many definitions and explanations of what trauma is.
What it boils down to for me is that trauma is a reaction - an emotional upset.
It is a response to an overwhelming distressing event.
(It is not the distressing event, itself.)
If someone is wondering if they had any trauma in their childhood, they can ask themselves,
"Did I ever feel upset and overwhelmed about something when I was growing up?
Did I ever experience an overwhelming distressing event during my childhood?"
I put distressing events into 3 main categories
(The first two come from Gabor Mate. I added the third.)
- Something bad happened that should not have
- Something good did not happen that should have
- Something bad happened that could be seen as a normal part of life
(like falling off a bicycle or getting stung by a bee)
All humans experience trauma.
The question is - Did it get fully resolved or not?