Own Your Trauma

Trauma can be defined as an emotionally distressing event that can have a lasting impact on an

individual's mental well-being. It can be caused by various events such as physical or sexual abuse,

natural disasters, war, or loss of a loved one. Trauma can also occur at workplace. Workplace trauma

refers to the harm caused by office-related events such as bullying, harassment, discrimination, toxic

culture, unfairness, public criticism, unrealistic job expectations, constant threats of job loss or

workplace violence.

Individuals who have experienced workplace trauma may suffer from anxiety, depression,

flashbacks, nightmares, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health issues. They

may also experience physical symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, nausea, fatigue, and body

ache. While trauma can cause severe physical symptoms, like every other psychological

phenomenon, it has a survival-oriented purpose. It creates mental triggers that prevent us from

falling into similar dangerous situations again.

Contrary to popular opinion, trauma is not a bad thing. It is an evolutionary adaptation that helped

our ancestors stay away from dangers of the jungle. Imagine a cave man accidentally walking into a

cave and getting attacked by a lion. The physical attack would have likely caused severe emotional

distress, especially because it was a direct threat to the caveman’s survival. This event would then

get stored as a hypersensitive memory in the brain of the caveman. This memory would get

retriggered every time the caveman would walk past the cave or be in a similar situation. This trigger

would be accompanied by severe anxiety that would prevent the caveman from venturing into the

cave again. In this way, traumas helped our ancestors survive through the atrocities of the jungle.

Even though in today’s times, the chances of us walking into a lion’s cage are minimal, both physical

and emotional stressors of high magnitude can cause traumas. This is because our brain doesn’t

know the difference between a physical or an emotional threat.

Trauma is just like a physical wound which is supposed to heal with time. The more severe the

trauma, the more time we require to overcome it. Most often, people do not address their traumas

and hence old memories even from 25 years back can cause a full blown panic attack. Some people

even use their traumas as an excuse to not change themselves and ask others around them to

significantly adjust their behaviour. It should be noted that it is the responsibility of the person to

address their trauma through targeted psychological interventions. If the traumatic memory is more

than 24 months old, and is getting triggered again and again, then the person needs to actively work

towards healing it.

At workplace, traumas can be caused by emotional events such as public humiliations, harassment,

discrimination, job loss, etc. Although, organizations can take effective steps to address the issue of

trauma by creating safe and supportive environments, they should always encourage their

employees to become more resilient. Dealing and overcoming the impact of trauma can be difficult

and complex. But it is important to remember that recovery is possible. It is crucial to seek help from

a mental health professional and engage in self -care activities such as deep breathing, exercising,

meditation, journaling, grounding, and spending time with loved ones. Some of the techniques

which mental health professionals use to help people deal with trauma are exposure therapy, CBT

(cognitive behavioral therapy) and medicines. Exposure therapy involves gradually exposing

individuals to the traumatic memory to help them overcome their fear. This is one of the most

recommended and powerful ways of healing trauma. CBT is yet another treatment that focuses on

changing negative thought patterns and behaviours associated with it. Licensed CBT experts are

available in most cities across the world. Prescription medications can only be recommended by a

psychiatrist doctor.

As mental health is a part of our overall health, every individual should take accountability of their

healing process. While organizations can support their employees by providing safe spaces and

counselling services, it is the responsibility of the individual to work on their traumas and fix them. If

you or someone you know is experiencing trauma, don't hesitate to reach out to a psychologist. Also

remember, protection from trauma is not a long-term solution, exposure is.