A traumatic event is something that is so horrifying, life-threatening, or overwhelming that it exceeds a person’s ability to cope. A person who has experienced trauma needs to feel safe to learn new things, develop new skills, and experience improved mental health. That’s why Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health in Leland, North Carolina, offers trauma-informed care.
What Does Trauma Look Like?
Because each person is unique, what one person finds traumatic might be only somewhat upsetting to someone else. In general, however, the list below is of things that are frequently considered to be traumatic to experience:
- Abuse such as physical, sexual, emotional, or financial
- Witnessing domestic or community violence
- Loss of important relationships due to death, divorce, or entering foster care
- Natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires, or floods
- Warfare
- Poverty
- Major medical incidents
- Automotive collisions
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are difficult, potentially traumatic events that a person might experience before the age of 18. Because children are generally more vulnerable than adults and have not had the chance to develop their coping skills, ACEs can be particularly damaging. This is particularly true if the person does not receive support and protection from the adults in their lives, as this can place them at risk for additional ACEs, which also makes it more likely that they will have mental and/or physical health conditions later in life.
What Is Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma-informed care is being mindful and proactive about the experiences that trauma survivors have in accessing services. This can include:
- Creating a safe environment by creating a security presence, ensuring parking lots, common areas, bathrooms, and doors are well-lit after dark, and preventing people from loitering near entrances and exits.
- Reducing triggers by screening patients for prior trauma and recognizing their unique stressors, and providing an environment that is calm and quiet.
- Training all staff to recognize signs of trauma and how to respond with compassion
- Giving patients control where possible, such as explaining patient rights and ensuring they feel safe exercising them, deciding if a door will be open or closed, allowing them to bring along a support person, and explaining what will be happening to patients and getting their permission to proceed. Also, by allowing for paperwork to be completed in advance, so that survivors are in a safe, familiar setting when answering potentially sensitive questions, and reminding patients that they are allowed to take breaks if they become overwhelmed.
What Are the Signs of Trauma?
Often, when a person has experienced trauma, they will exhibit signs:
Emotional
- Shock
- Fear
- Sadness
- Helplessness
- Guilt/Shame
- Anger
Physical
- Shakiness
- Rapid heart rate or breathing
- Racing thoughts
- Changes to sleep or appetite
- Discomfort, such as headaches or stomach pain
- Increased substance use
It is also possible for a person to experience trauma and not show obvious outward signs of distress. This is one of the reasons why it is so important for programs to implement trauma-informed care universally. Many people have experienced trauma in their lifetimes and they don’t all show the outward manifestations we might expect.
The Difference Between Trauma and PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that generally manifests as:
- Re-experiencing the trauma as nightmares or flashbacks
- Avoidance of any reminders related to the trauma
- Heightened emotional arousal (sleep disturbances, difficulty focusing, jumpiness, or irritability )
- Numbed emotions
Not all people who experience trauma will develop PTSD. This is particularly true for people who are:
- Believed
- Supported
- Protected from further trauma
- Able to access therapy
- Able to use a wide range of healthy coping skills
- Raised by a parent who understands trauma and how to prevent it
At Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health, we treat adolescents and adults who require acute treatment for psychiatric conditions and mental health crises. Our structured, therapeutic setting allows patients to manage their symptoms and also become more resilient, so that they can bounce back when they experience future difficulties.
