TRAUMA & PTSD: OVERVIEW
There are misconceptions about trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One popular misconception (usually seen in social media posts) is that one is traumatized through challenging situations such as sitting next to a passenger with undesirable scents or behaviors while using mass transit, or after a particularly difficult testing experience. While most people understand that these statements are made to gain attention and elicit the sharing of similar experiences, the characterization of such events as “traumatizing” has the unwanted effect of diminishing the life-altering, perception-changing experiences that survivors undergo. It also fosters confusion and can cause true survivors to maintain silence. If such events are presented as tongue-in-cheek, silly, or humorous, then the survivor can’t be faulted for thinking that no one will understand what it really means to experience trauma and live with PTSD symptoms.
In this section, you can learn about what trauma is, its prevalence, and how trauma caused by abuse incidents adds another layer to living with the experience. You could also take a free quiz to see if what you’re experiencing falls under posttraumatic stress disorder. My hope is that you can learn that you’re not alone, you’re not different from everyone else, and there is hope.