 Hey Psych2Go family, before we start, we at Psych2Go want to thank you for supporting us on our mission to help everyone learn more about psychology and mental health in a digestible way. So, let's begin. Have you been through a traumatic experience before? While you might be quick to say no, traumatic experiences are actually much more common than you think. Trauma can come from experiences of bullying, violence, assault, or physical and emotional abuse. Losing someone to suicide as well as a sudden neglect or abandonment are all traumatic events. Trauma is a very difficult thing to deal with, making you feel overwhelmed and helpless. When you have a hard time confronting and processing these intense emotions, you might struggle to heal from the psychological scars of your trauma. With that said, here are 6 things unhealed trauma makes us do. 1. You blame yourself. When you ignore the impact of trauma, it tends to eat away at you and rob you of your peace of mind. You might not be able to help but fixate on the trauma and blame yourself for what happened. You think that it's all your fault, or if only I had known this or done that, then maybe it wouldn't have happened to me. You overcome with feelings of guilt, shame, and regret for what happened. You wished desperately that you could take it all back and do things differently. Then no matter how much everyone tries to console you or reassure you that it's not your fault, you can't help but feel like it is. 2. You repress your feelings. A lot of trauma victims tend to become emotionally numb for a while to help them deal with the difficult situation they've been through. Following a traumatic event, you might feel vulnerable, afraid, ashamed, confused, violated, or hopeless. This is all a lot for you to process. When you're not ready to confront your feelings yet, you bury them instead. You deny that anything is wrong and want to act like you're perfectly fine because you're too overwhelmed with heavy emotions that you simply don't know how to handle on your own. 3. There is a disruption in your daily routine. According to the American Psychological Association, one of the earliest signs of trauma is the experience of intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and vivid nightmares. The trauma can be so distressing that it disrupts your eating and sleeping habits and your daily routine. For example, if you've been in a car crash, you may struggle to drive a car ever again because of the overwhelming fear and anxiety it stirs up. Similarly, if you've been a victim of a break-in, you might decide to quickly move out of your home because of how unsafe the experience has made you feel. The fear that the trauma can happen again is overwhelming and paralyzing. 4. You sabotage your relationships. Do you stop hanging out with your friends, lock yourself up in your room all day because of something that's happened? Traumatic events can lead you to become more distant and isolated from those around you. You avoid others as much as you can and even shut out your loved ones. You're so afraid of getting hurt again and you'd rather detach yourself from everyone else than risk getting close to someone. Isolation and avoidance are common coping mechanisms when dealing with unhealed trauma and it's not unusual for trauma victims to develop a fear of intimacy and emotional attachment. 5. You always assume the worst. Has trauma can instill suspicions and negative beliefs in you and you start to assume the worst is going to happen. You don't trust in the good things that happen to you or when things you want come easily because you've learned from past experience how badly things can turn out for the worse. You find it difficult to not only trust people but also to forgive them for their mistakes because you've grown used to being mistreated and let down by others. 6. Feeling anxious for no reason. Unhealed trauma can wreak havoc on your mental health. The American Psychological Association reports that patients suffering from PTSD and other trauma-related mental disorders tend to become hypervigilant and easily triggered, especially in places or situations that remind them of their trauma. For example, a woman who was in an abusive relationship with a man may feel uncomfortable or unsafe being alone with another man. A child who grew up in an abusive household may become fearful of any and all adults in their life. This anxiety is often accompanied by other symptoms such as sweating, trembling, agitation, muscle tension and heart palpitations. Do you relate to any of the things we've mentioned here? Do you have any lingering feelings of unhealed trauma that you might need to deal with? We have another video on this topic if you'd like to learn more titled 9 Signs You Have Unhealed Trauma. If you enjoyed watching this video, give us a thumbs up and share it with someone who might find it helpful too. The studies and references used in this video are listed in the description below. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button for more Psych2Go content and, as always, thanks so much for watching. We'll see you next time.