← →

What is trauma?

Think for a moment about a time when you received some very stressful information or had a very stressful experience. How did it impact your ability to think clearly?

Did you find yourself unable to perform a simple task that you normally could do without thinking? Did you find that you could not comprehend the words someone was speaking to you? Or that later you could not remember important information that you were given? Did you find it almost impossible to organize your thoughts so that you could concentrate and complete tasks? Were you able to perform activities at work or school well? 

Stress impacts our brain’s ability to function. And sustained stress, or trauma, has a serious impact.

“Trauma is the emotional, psychological and physiological residue left over from heightened stress that accompanies experiences of threat, violence, and life-challenging events.”

Making Space for Learning: Trauma-Informed Practice in Schools , Australian Childhood Foundation. 2010, pg. 12

---

Children learn how to handle stress through relationships with the caregivers in their lives. If a frightening or stressful incident occurs the physiological responses – the pounding heartbeat, the dizziness, the trembling hands, the racing mind - are buffered by the relationship; the child is supported to regain his equilibrium and a sense of control. Over time, the child learns to cope when a stressful incident occurs.

Some stressful events can be too much to handle. Trauma is the injury that happens when events overwhelm an individual’s ability to cope, and he cannot find the way back to a place of mental, emotional and physical equilibrium.

 

← Back Next →