Trauma- used as a broad term
Lately, I have seen people upset because trauma is being used as a broad term. I have been reflecting about this lately as I use trauma broadly. This is the conclusion I came to through my reflection.
Why is this tamboo?
I have noticed as a way to destigmatize mental health, people have been talking more about their struggles ( YAY). People have also started to label their struggles as an excuse for behaviors ( BOO). When I was new and green to therapy, one of the basic assumptions I was taught was “we are responsible for our own triggers” (OUCH). That one can feel painful. I didn’t cause my triggers, I can’t help my triggers and my triggers are not fair. ALL of this is true and it is our responsibility to work through our reactions in order to be the best person we can be for ourselves but also for all of those around us.
I know this is from the bias of a mental health provider who believes all people can create positive, lasting change in their lives. Yes I believe ALL people , I see it every day.
I also do not believe you can control all of your responses; our body and system often run the show when emotions are high.
I want mental health to be destigmatized; this is a core part of who I am and how I function.
Discussing mental health as a healing process can be the best of both world. Discussing how you have changed thanks to a journey in mental wellness creates space for change and space for compassion. Discussing what you continue to work on in order to gain support from trusted people lets people know you are working and trying. Trauma is not an excuse it is a reaction and you are responsible for working through your reactions in order to reduce your consequences.
How do I define trauma?
I define trauma as anything that creates a lack of safety in your body.
But Allison, can't that be just about anything?
Darn tootin, that’s the point.
Any type of stress on your body system can manifest into stress responses. I often use Trauma and stress interchangeably.
This can be workplace stress, academic-related stress, bad dreams, relationship-related stress, natural disasters, negative messages that came from somewhere that create stress………. need I go on, it can be anything.
Sometimes, traumatic things do not cause trauma. We can go through a hard thing without the lasting responses. Sometimes, the things that are seemingly benign haunt us for decades.
We don’t know why stress gets stuck in the way it does, but I have my theories ( that’s a soap box for another day).
Why does this help with stigma?
I can not count the number of times someone has come into my office and said, " My life is not as bad as many; there is no reason I should be reacting this way.”
When we use stress and trauma interchangeably, we do not have to decide what is trauma and what is stress. Other people can have worse lives and you can still react like you do without shame ( or maybe less shame).
This does not discredit the fact that some peoples trauma fits into the nice box that people call traumatic. It simply means all people's experiences are important, and all peoples ’s systemic reactions to these experiences are important even if they do not make sense to the person living in it.
Why EMDR works no matter the stress
Stuck processing that creates anxiety or depression responses does not always have a rhyme or reason, but it all acts the same. With the use of EMDR, we can get your brain back on track so that it can process your experience, big or small, even if you have no idea what those experiences are.
Not only do we now have hundreds upon thousands of research papers floating around that proves that this is true, I see it day in and day out in my practice.
It doesn't matter what the stress/trauma is EMDR can help you get back on track with the processing the way the body is designed to process stress.
