 Hey Psych2Goers, welcome back! What is trauma? According to the American Psychological Association, APA, trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event. It's something that can take over anyone who's been through an emotionally disturbing or life-threatening experience. Despite what many people think, trauma isn't something that only people who've been diagnosed with PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder can have. Living with trauma can affect you well after a traumatic event or experience and can play a big part in how you move forward in life. There are certain signs and behaviors that are common in most people with trauma. So to help you become aware of whether you're still struggling with a traumatic event, here are five signs you're living with trauma. Number one, you're still emotionally affected. Does the traumatic event you went through still take a toll on you emotionally? No matter how long ago it may have been. How your trauma continues to affect you depends on your experience and it can vary from person to person. Certain words in your conversations, being in a certain place or seeing particular objects may trigger feelings or memories tied to your trauma. In more severe cases, you may find yourself feeling as though you're reliving the incident. These moments can be difficult to manage and end up standing in the way of your healing and recovery. So if you find that you're still emotionally impacted by a traumatic event, seeking help from a mental health professional or even turning to talk to someone who's attentive and sympathetic may help you deal with and navigate through how you feel. Number two, you avoid certain thoughts, feelings and conversations. Do you go out of your way to avoid certain thoughts, feelings and conversations because you don't know how to deal with them? Perhaps you find recalling certain events overwhelming or you can't bring yourself to talk about a traumatic experience or hear of any similar ones. Avoidance is a natural reaction to trauma and is often used as a method to cope with or escape feelings that may be too overwhelming or exhaustive to address. In the face of what your mind views as dangerous, your flight response may kick in, causing you to steer clear of these unwanted and uncomfortable triggers. However, it's important to know that avoiding your trauma is only a temporary solution to push away your thoughts and feelings at the moment. It doesn't guarantee that they won't pop up again. Instead, avoidance may only prevent you from coming to terms with your trauma, which is important for you to be able to heal and move on. At a more severe level, avoidance can leave to unhealthy and sometimes dangerous coping mechanisms like substance abuse and excessive drinking. Number three, you feel disconnected from others. Have you been feeling more and more isolated from the people around you? Because of your traumatic experience, you'd be difficult to find people who can relate to and understand what you went through. As a result, you might feel disconnected from others, which may make you feel misunderstood, different, or singled out. Sometimes in order to avoid any unwanted reactions from people who may not understand why you feel the way you do, you may even suppress your emotions and purposefully hide how you feel. However, even if you feel excluded and alone because of what you went through, it's likely that there are people out there who've also been through something similar. According to the National Council for Mental Well-Being, 70% of adults in the US have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. So if you're feeling isolated, it may be helpful to reach out to some communities or groups for support. Number four, you've become closed off and distant in your relationships. Are you always telling your friends and family that you're fine, even though you're not? Because traumatic events are emotionally and mentally damaging, they can be hard to talk about. Even when others are willing to listen and talk about how you're feeling, it can still be difficult to take them up on their offer. You may fear how they'll react, have trouble putting your feelings into words, or perhaps you just don't want to deal with the painful feeling of thinking back to the incident. However, when you suppress or ignore how you feel, you may just end up isolating yourself from your loved ones. Similarly, the people around you may be unaware of what you're going through and interpret your behavior as annoyance, moodiness, or assume that you're going through a hard time because of other problems. This can also create distance and strain in your relationships, making maintaining close friendships difficult. And number five, you had negative shifts in personality and thinking. Do you feel like you won't amount to anything in the future? Trauma can also have an impact on your overall personality and ways of thinking, whether it's experiencing a lower sense of self-esteem or developing a more pessimistic or cynical view of the world. Your trauma can change your attitude and sensitivity towards other people. Perhaps you're more on guard when you're around others, or always expect the worst outcomes to occur in every situation. This tendency to always be cautious and suspicious of others or to become aggressive when you feel threatened can end up also impacting your ability to form and maintain your relationships. Did you find this video helpful? How many signs did you relate to? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to like, subscribe, and share this video with those who might benefit from it. 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