What is Trauma?

There are many types of trauma and many ways to heal. FORGE especially focuses on serving the underserved:

Almost everyone experiences at least one traumatic event in their lifetime: sexual abuse or assault, an unexpected death of a loved one, traffic accidents, natural disasters, combat or many other events.

People can be deeply affected by both directly experiencing a traumatic event or by witnessing it.

Most often, people experience traumatic events and gradually recover from the emotional and physical after effects. However, approximately 20% of the time, people exposed to traumatic events develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – a condition that has longer-term implications and often interferes with daily functioning. Roughly 30% of those who develop PTSD develop a chronic form that persists throughout their lifetime.

The label associated with a survivor’s set of response symptoms is far less important than acknowledging what happened and working to regain a life that is not paralyzed by continued traumatic responses or re-experiencing. Healing is possible.

The symptoms of PTSD symptoms fall into three categories (text from the Sidran Institute):

Re-living the event through recurring nightmares or other intrusive images that occur at any time. People who suffer from PTSD also have extreme emotional or physical reactions, such as chills, heart palpitations, or panic when faced with reminders of the event.
Avoiding reminders of the event including places, people, thoughts, or other activities associated with the trauma. PTSD sufferers may feel emotionally detached, withdraw from friends and family and lose interest in everyday activities.
Being on guard or hyper-aroused at all times, including feeling irritable or sudden anger, having difficulty sleeping or a lack of concentration, being overly alert or easily startled.

Some traumatic events tend to result in higher rates of PTSD than others. Remember ANYONE who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event may develop PTSD. The following is a list of how frequently certain traumatic events generally lead to the development of PTSD: