Читать книгу Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace - Gill Hasson - Страница 21

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, trauma is defined as ‘exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence; either directly, as a witness or by learning it happened to a loved one or friend’.

Trauma does not just happen to other people – it happens to us, our friends and family and our neighbours. While humans are an extremely resilient species, able to rebound from relentless wars, family violence and manmade disasters, experiences like these inevitably leave traces: on our minds, our emotions and even on our biology and immune systems. This matters not just to those who are directly affected, but to the people around them.

Bessel van der Kolk

There can be varying levels of trauma and traumatic stress. Whilst many individuals who are exposed to trauma can move on from it, for others it's not that simple. Trauma can leave ongoing symptoms that need professional support and psychotherapeutic intervention. Part of our brain can be good at denying the trauma has happened; however, the brain and the symptoms associated with the original trauma can be re-activated by a slight sense of danger.

Emotional and physical responses:

 Ruminating and replaying on a loop the memories in your mind

 Intrusive flashbacks and disturbing images and thoughts

 Feeling trapped in the past events

 Nightmares, waking in terror

 Anxiety and feeling on edge, fearful and constantly ‘on guard’, seeing danger everywhere

 Feeling out of control, vulnerable, hopeless, and helpless

 Feelings of despair and bleakness, sadness, depression, grief

 Survivors guilt, self-blame, and self-criticism

 Angry, violent outbursts

 Numbness and feeling empty.

How you might behave:

 Withdrawing from family/friends/loved ones/colleagues

 Avoiding things/people related to the traumatic event

 Difficulty trusting people

 Panic and being easily startled

 Inability to rest or relax

 Impulsive behaviour

 Panic attacks.