Types of psychological trauma

Types of psychological trauma

Psychological trauma occurs when damage to the mind occurs due to an distressing event in which the individual has not been able to handle the stress that he has assumed and integrate the emotions lived in that experience. In this Psychology-online article, we will explain what psychological traumas cause, what types there are and how to overcome them. If you want to know what the types of trauma are following reading. Next, we will see the 8 types of psychological trauma.

You may also be interested: how to overcome a childhood trauma index
  1. What are psychological traumas
  2. Causes of psychological traumas
  3. Types of psychological traumas depending on the type of situation
  4. Types of psychological traumas based on the duration of the situation
  5. How to overcome psychological trauma

What are psychological traumas

Psychological traumas are caused by a situation that occurs suddenly or unexpectedly, in which the individual does not have the ability to handle the problem, making him disturb him. In this way, the individual will present a confusion about his emotions, feeling bad and, later, creating resistance to such situations, even avoiding living something similar again.

Psychological traumas are emotional sequelae left by an experience that caused immense pain and suffering to the individual. Such experience can affect their behavior, thought and feeling, that way, the individual does anything to avoid reviving and remembering what caused the trauma.

Traum. In the following article, you will be more information about what a psychological trauma is.

Causes of psychological traumas

Most people believe that trauma is generated by situations in which someone's life is being threatened, such as a car accident, a robbery, sexual violence, death of someone dear, among other things.

The traumas are triggered according to the situation lived by the individual. When the person experiences a traumatic situation, Your brain enters shock And this is the psychological trauma.

Although there are other forms of beginning and causes of psychological traumas, the greatest are those caused by loved people, because it is never expected to receive A mistreatment or betrayal of someone who has confidence and love.

Who experience trauma, generally, feels a sense of guilt, shame, irritability, insomnia, nightmares, fear, anxiety, nervousness and confusion.

Types of psychological traumas depending on the type of situation

¿What types of psychological traumas exist? Psychological traumas may be related to childhood, duel, natural disasters, accidents, abuse, wars, relationships and their ruptures, physical and psychological abuse. To continue we will detail the main types of traumas:

1. Childhood traumas

It is in childhood that many of our experiences are consolidated and are part of our training and reference. These experiences are responsible for forming the personality of the individual, their way of feeling and acting. Because of that, a trauma in childhood has a huge weight throughout life. Some examples of traumatic experience for a child are:

  • Sexual, physical and emotional abuse
  • Physical and emotional negligence
  • Live in a home that occurs ill -treatment and violence
  • Live in a home that occurs abuse of substances
  • Separation or divorce from parents

In the following article, you will find more information about child abuse: types, causes, consequences and prevention.

2. Traumas for sexual abuse

It is a trauma that can occur in childhood or adulthood. Some examples are:

  • Rape
  • Attempted rape
  • Sexual violence
  • Incest
  • Child sexual abuse

Here we explain the difference between abuse, rape, harassment and sexual assault. It is a terrible and very difficult experience to overcome it. The victim wishes to erase him from his memory, which makes the problem solution even more complex. In addition to trauma, the person can develop a dissociative disorder in some cases. In the following article, we explain the symptoms of sexual abuse in childhood.

3. Traumas for physical and psychological abuse

It is physical and psychological trauma when violence is exercised over the individual. Some examples are:

  • Beating
  • Hits
  • Torture
  • Confinement
  • Bullying

That violence can be physical or psychological, In both cases it refers to abuse. In addition to the physical damage caused by the violence exerted to the victim, the psychological damages referring to both physical abuse and verbal ill -treatment result in serious emotional damage. Feelings of fear, anxiety and low self -esteem usually arise in those situations.

In the following articles, you will find more information about the types of violence and the consequences of psychological abuse.

4. Natural traumas

They are situations that there is no intention, but the life of the individual is put at risk. Some examples are:

  • Car accident
  • Fires
  • Hurricane
  • Earthquake
  • Floods

5. Interpersonal traumas

They are traumatic events that cannot be foreseen, they put life at risk and is caused by the human being. Some examples are:

  • Robberies
  • Kidnappings
  • Terrorist actions
  • Be hostage

Types of psychological traumas based on the duration of the situation

In psychology, there is a classification for the types of traumas according to the characteristics, the duration and repetition of the situations that originate the trauma. In addition to the types explained above, which are classified according to the characteristics of the situation, the basis can also be classified. Next, we will see the types of psychological traumas depending on the duration of the situation:

  • Type I traumas: referring to specific situations of life that occurred events that produced a strong impact on the life of the individual.
  • Type II traumas: Refers to situations that occur in a short time and have a more widespread duration.
  • Type III traumas: Refers to repeated situations in childhood that affect the individual with its long -term effects. When anguish or fear has been repeated for a prolonged period of time, we refer to complex trauma. In the following article, you will find more information about complex trauma: what is, symptoms, criteria and treatment.

How to overcome psychological trauma

The psychotherapy It is the most effective treatment in cases of psychological traumas. It is during the psychotherapy that the individual will have the appropriate space to normalize feelings and emotions, in addition to the psychologist to provide help to process and develop the trauma by offering tools and developing skills necessary to face the problem. Some therapeutic techniques can also help trauma:

  • He Brainspotting It is a psychological therapy that aims to treat human suffering in a deep and transformative way. One of its objectives is the treatment of traumas, relieving the weight of excessive emotions, healing the injuries of the history of the person.
  • The techniques of mindfulness They can also be an option, as the individual will do mental exercises to combat the impact of trauma. It is a type of meditation that the person helps in their discomfort. In this article we explain what the mindfulness is and how it is practiced.
  • The Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy by eye movements, Also known as EMDR technique, it is a technique widely used to assist cases of post -traumatic stress. This is a technique that stimulates cerebral hemispheres by visual stimulation or sounds in the ears, also works with odors, thoughts, images and sensations related to the traumatic event. In this way, the individual can give a new meaning to what happened.

On some occasions it may be necessary to use drugs, generally to control secondary symptoms, although in these cases it is always essential to go to the doctor.

In the following article, we talk about how to overcome psychological trauma.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of psychological trauma, We recommend that you enter our clinical psychology category.