Co-written by Demi Anagnostouli & Lilja Kanerva

Trigger Warning: the following article will talk a lot about trauma, traumatic events, different definitions but also examples of trauma and so on, so we would like to warn you beforehand in order to consciously choose if you want to continue reading it. We would also highly recommend that if you experience trauma right now or if you are still recovering from a traumatic event to maybe leave this article for now and read it later when you are further in your healing process.

The article will cover the following:

·   What is Trauma?

·   Different Definitions of Trauma/ Traumatic Events

·   Not All adversities are Traumas

·   Overuse of the label trauma in the Media

·   Looking forward

What is Trauma?

The word trauma finds its roots in the Greek word τραύμα, meaning wound [5]. The definition of this word as a physical wound first, appeared in the 1650s in medical practice. Later on, in the 1890s we also saw the appearance of the word as a psychic wound. This is how it became popular in the humanitarian studies, especially when the ‘’anthropology of suffering’’ started concerning people and professionals. As a medical category, the word trauma went popular with the definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is what made sufferers gain a new identity since it was applied to many victims of violence and so on. Lastly, something that is really interesting and not known by many is that: ‘’Trauma as historical injustice has turned into a tool that is used to gain public recognition for perished victims and to demand the state’s political accountability so that the descendants of slaves can be compensated through legislation and reparations’’.

Trauma, according to APA [1], the American Psychology Association, is an emotional response to a terrible event. That could be an accident, rape or a natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are very common responses. If one suffers from long term reactions to trauma, they might suffer from unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and physical symptoms may also rise like headaches or nausea. One might think that all these feelings are totally normal. But what if some people experience trouble with moving on from them? Psychologists for example can help in these situations to find constructive ways to manage emotions.

Different Definitions of Trauma

In an article that reviews definitions and core components of trauma- informed juvenile justice systems [2], poses the following: an estimated 70% to 90% of youth offenders have experienced at least once in their lives, one or more types of trauma. Here trauma is: high rates of physical or sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence and exposure to violence in school or in the community. They also note here that after experiencing a traumatic event, more often a child besides experiencing traumatic stress is also more prone to increase their risk of arrest. Trauma sources in the juvenile justice system [2] include discriminatory law enforcement practices, abusive behavior by the ‘’correctional’’ staff and the high rates of physical and sometimes sexual victimization in juvenile jails.

Something that I found interesting while reading and researching in order to write my part for this article, is that professionals most of the time mention that there is insufficient clarity around the word trauma and its definitions, even though we see definitions of trauma almost in all scientific papers that examine trauma, traumatic experiences or ways to overcome it in multiple settings.

For example, Bath in his writing: ‘’The Trouble with Trauma’’ [3] expresses this concern as the following: the trauma perspective lacks clarity about the definition of psychological or emotional trauma itself. He continues by agreeing that there are many definitions of trauma in the literature but that they differ as to if the word refers to a significantly adverse event or circumstance, the subjective experience of the victim, the response of the victim, or the harm done. He is making all these claims because various trauma definitions include wording like the following:

• a psychologically distressing event,
• an emotionally distressing experience,
• an emotional response to a terrible event,
• a type of damage done to the psyche

and he is making that claim in a sense in order to criticize the unclearness of the latter definitions as they lack a certain level of certainty in his opinion, but also the same opinion is held by the broader scientific community.

Finally, some more examples of traumatic events (I am not writing again the ones mentioned already in paragraphs above) according to Kelty Mental Health [4]: a serious car accident, sudden unexpected or violent death of someone close, serious injury, major surgery or life-threatening illness, and finally, war or political violence.

Not all adversities are Traumas

Another definition by Bloom & Farragher, 2011 [3] explains that: Trauma occurs when external and internal resources are inadequate to cope with an external threat. Moreover, experts have agreed upon 2 types of traumatizing events: The single one (type 1, acute or simple trauma) and multiple traumatizing events over time (type 2, complex trauma). In the same article, with bold, blue letters it is made clear from the writer that not all adversities are traumas. For example, in early ages children that are neglected may experience adverse events for extended periods of time that have, of course, profound impact on their later life, but some researchers use the word traumatic to refer both to abuse and neglect. The same goes for example for post-partum depression of a mother. Ιt is widely agreed upon that mother's depression immediately after birth can have an adverse impact on the dependent infant. However, even though the mother can be struggling, this in itself is not something that fits the definition of trauma per se. However, it is agreed that physical, sexual, and emotional abuse along with exposure to domestic violence are considered traumatic.

‘’rather than using the word trauma or traumatic to describe all adverse events, it would be more accurate and therapeutically useful to use a broad descriptor, like severe adversity, and more specific terms such as chronic stress and trauma where these apply [3]’’

Overusing the label trauma in the media

There are plenty of articles, in the popular media, discussing the overuse of the word trauma. As an example, clinical psychologist David J.Ley writes about abusing the word trauma in the webpage Psychology Today. He states that “today, the term trauma seems to be everywhere. And the idea of trauma has now been extended out to seemingly cover any unpleasant experience one might encounter” [6]. he believes that, for example, finding out that your partner is cheating on you is not comparable to fighting in a war, losing a friend to death or being raped [6]. One has to be cautious not to create hierarchies in pain. He also regrets the fact that ‘poorly-trained clinicians’ over-diagnose PTSD for people who show some of the symptoms and have experienced some sort of trauma. However, experiencing some symptoms of PTSD (e.g. anxiety, depression and fear) is not the same as having PTSD [6]. Ley stresses that traumatic experiences which cause PTSD are such that there is an actual risk to life, psychological and physical integrity [6]. All the while, when Ley is very critical of the overuse of the term trauma, on the same website Psychology Today there seem to be many articles overusing the term. Immediately I can view articles that link infidelity and trauma as well as childbirth and trauma together in a way that Ley would definitely not be happy about. To give an example, in one of the articles titled Surviving infidelity: When ‘Crazy’ is the new ‘Normal’, Robert Weiss states point-blank: “When cheating is uncovered, deeply attached, intimately betrayed partners are emotionally and psychologically traumatized” [7]. This is a clear example of very loose usage of the word trauma, which can in the worst case have harmful effects on those who have actually experienced traumatic experiences. I will touch upon those negative effects later on. Similarly to Ley, writer Tarpley Hitt, has observed a similar pattern in the usage of the word trauma on Twitter which made her decide to mute tweets with that specific word. She explained that Twitter as a platform encourages people to use words and concepts in a way that might easily distance them from their original meaning. She remembers seeing tweets about trauma and Justin Bieber, trauma about Dating a superhero, and trauma about hypersexuality, before she muted that specific word [8].

I have to confess that I have also contributed to this trauma epidemic myself. I can clearly recall referring to minor nuisances in my life as traumatic when talking with friends, stretching the usage of trauma unnecessarily. As a psychologist Nelisha Wickermasinghe puts it: “​​Losing out on a promotion at work, queuing for petrol, being single, having noisy neighbors, and developing wrinkles may overwhelm or upset us, but they are qualitatively different experiences to, for example, being raped, witnessing a murder, getting involved in a fatal accident, or prematurely losing a loved one” [9].

Why is this problematic?

The overuse of trauma seems to be a widely discussed topic on the internet, but what is it about the broad use of this word that is so problematic?

First of all, if we start to consider every inconvenience as trauma we inevitably thin down the effect of the word. This is worrisome as it diminishes the experience of people who have actually experienced trauma. Moreover, this thinning down can also stand in the way of getting treatment of those who actually would need it [1].

Second, research has shown that the way we label our experiences affects the way we view them and act in response to them. To demonstrate, if we interpret inconveniences, upsetting events and all adversity as trauma, the labelling gives the experience more power to overwhelm us and affect us negatively. Nick Haslam, who writes about the overuse of the word trauma, puts it concisely: “Using the word ‘trauma’ turns every event into a catastrophe, leaving us helpless, broken and unable to move on” [10]. A similar point is made by Ley, who explains that when clinicians tell their patients that they must have been traumatized by a certain experience, the patients believe them and thus start to perceive themselves as traumatized. Viewing yourself and your problems through this lens can not only prolong, but also worsen the issues at hand [1].

Looking forward

So what could be a way forward? Real trauma should be recognized and treated as such. We should pay attention to the way we, as individuals, use the word in our lives, both in our social interactions and especially on social media, in order to avoid the adverse effects the elastic use of this word can have for those that are really suffering from trauma.

Finally, there are multiple ways to assist people that suffer traumatic events. These range from writing, in order to externalize it, to complex psychological therapies like gestalt or even group therapy, applicable when other people have been traumatized by similar events. Something that we should not forget, however, is that every experience is unique and must be treated as such. Therefore, we should not underestimate the trauma one goes through or compare it to other traumas. However, the fact that the media overuses the word is definitely problematic and more awareness about the topic of trauma is needed in order to use the term correctly.

References:

1. https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma

2. Branson, C. , Baetz, C. , Horwitz, S. & Hoagwood, K. (2017). Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9 (6), 635-646. doi: 10.1037/tra0000255.

3. Bath, H. (2017). The trouble with trauma. Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, 16(1), 1-12.

4. https://keltymentalhealth.ca/post-traumatic-stress-disorder

5. Zhukova, E. (2020). " Trauma". In Humanitarianism. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. doi: https://doi-org.eur.idm.oclc.org/10.1163/9789004431140_0101

6.  Ley, D. J. (2012, September 20) Abusing the Term Trauma Can “my partner cheated on me” really be called traumatic?. Psychology Today. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-stray/201209/abusing-the-term-trauma

7. Weiss, R. (2019, May 2). Surviving Infidelity: When “Crazy” Is the New “Normal” If you’ve been cheated on and feel like you’re going crazy, you’re not alone. Psychology Today. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/love-and-sex-in-the-digital-age/201905/surviving-infidelity-when-crazy-is-the-new-normal

8. Hitt, T. (2021, November 10). A Tip For Living Well: Mute the Word “Trauma.” Gawker. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.gawker.com/culture/mute-the-word-trauma

9. Wickremasinghe, N. (2021, November 26). Trauma Dumping: Is It Happening to You? Understanding the dynamics of “wild vulnerability” and how to manage it. Psychology Today. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spellbound/202111/trauma-dumping-is-it-happening-you

10. Haslam, B. N. (2019, May 23). The problem with describing every misfortune as 'trauma' Chicagotribune.Com. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/ct-trauma-microaggressions-trigger-warnings-20160815-story.html