Causes of Trauma
Trauma is the emotional and physical response to an event (or series of events) that are stressful, frightening, dangerous, or distressing(6). Trauma can result from numerous situations and experiences, including the following examples(7,8):
- Physical abuse
- Sexual assault/harassment
- Neglect
- Bullying
- Psychological, emotional, or verbal abuse
- Childhood abuse
- Serious health issues
- Grief or death of a loved one
- Accidents
- Terrorism
- Natural disasters
- Military combat
- Medical trauma
Remember - this is not a comprehensive list of traumatizing experiences, as trauma is subjective. Any instance in which someone is under extreme distress, danger, or perceives themselves to be in distress or danger can be traumatic.
Signs of Trauma
The interactive image below outlines some of the different ways that trauma can impact an individual's biopsychosocial health. Click the labels of the different signs to see more examples of each.
Note - This image adapts information from SAMHSA (9). Click the quotation mark (top left corner) to view a citation.
