Trauma and PTSD

We know now that trauma is more than an ‘horrific event’ “beyond the scope of normal human experience,” requiring a perceived threat to one’s life or physical safety (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). What we know now is that it is the perception of threat and safety and how overwhelmed we are by it, that is defining.

How each person experiences trauma will be influenced by genetics, environment, upbringing, and beliefs about Self and the world. Each of us will have our own experience, and our human system will respond accordingly – often outside of our conscious control. In our own time we will continually and actively process information, create responses, and create meaning. Which means no trauma, or its affects can be weighed or compared.

This in turn means that not everyone will be impacted negatively by a trauma, and the experience will not necessarily lead to a formal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or to other trauma related psychological problems (Shwartz, 2001).

For those who experience effects which may include dissociation, flashbacks, and nightmares, and/or where the event feels like it is not in the past where it should be, PTSD may be diagnosed.

For those who feel that trauma has had a deleterious impact on their well-being, or who have been given a formal diagnosis of PTSD, Satori offers a calm space to do the work of transitioning to healing. This may involve the use of well evidenced therapeutic approaches including ego state, internal family systems (IFS), and eye movement, desensitisation, and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. 

References:

https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/stress-and-trauma

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1980.