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What is Trauma? How do I know if I suffer from previous trauma experienced in my life?

5/24/2022

What is trauma? Trauma is the result of an excessive amount of stress that exceeds a person’s ability to cope. Some examples include, the death of a loved one, the end of a meaningful relationship, or the perceived rejection of a loved one.
Do you find yourself pretending everything is ok when it isn’t/trying to convince yourself everything is ok when it isn’t  when you lack the understanding and ability to deal with trauma, you end up repressing your negative emotions,

9 Signs that you are suffering from unhealed trauma:

You resist positive change – when something good comes into your life, do you find yourself suspicious of it? Do you feel guilty getting too close to someone or celebrating your own success – including “small” successes? This may be because of unhealed trauma resulting in you resisting positive change because deep down inside you feel like you don’t deserve to be happy.
You need to plan for everything! Do you find yourself needing to make sure to have a plan a, b, and even c? Do you feel frustrated and lost when you are not completely in control over a situation or when things don’t go as you expected? This need for control usually stems from a traumatic experience in which you felt like you had no control or lost control over a situation. As a result you micromanage and worry about the things that you are out of control. This shows you have a deep mistrust in yourself and the world.
You have a strong fear of failure – fearing to fail is a normal part of life, but when it becomes excessive, it can become unhealthy by outweighing your motivation to succeed. This leads to perfectionism and insecurity – which comes from unhealed trauma that caused you to internalize your shortcomings.
You have a strong fear of success – alternatively, unhealed trauma can lead to a fear of success. Have you ever stopped yourself from trying to get something you wanted because of a fear of what would happen when you got it? It’s like a fear of losing what you have before you even achieve it. The tendency to sabotage yourself from success often comes from a childhood in which you felt abandoned or neglected or if you lost a loved one at a young age.
You have difficulty concentrating – trauma has many effects on the brain – it’s common for people who have been through trauma to experience difficulty concentrating, gaps in their memory, blacking out often, or finding it difficult to keep their train of thought.
You have trouble asking for help – when people go through mistreatment or abuse it can be very difficult to ask for help, you would rather suffer in silence because you don’t want to be judged, seen as weak, etc.
You often hurt yourself or others – you may lash out at people when you are experiencing tense emotions, you push your loved ones away and isolate yourself when you have to deal with problems, you become overwhelmed, may lose your temper, and may even result in self harm
You struggle with low self-esteem – there are many ways that trauma can distort your self-image, when someone you love inflicts abuse on you, or you are neglected, abandoned or rejected by someone you care about, your self-worth decreases
You have unexplained psychological symptoms – depression, anxiety, dissociations, hard to feel happy/pleasure from things you used to enjoy, and difficulty eating/sleeping

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