How Does Trauma Occur In Adulthood

Trauma is something that can affect anyone at any time depending on the circumstance, no matther whether young or old (Briere, 1997). Trauma has been called “irritable heart” and “shell schock” but after a large amount of soldiers coming home from wars were all experiencing similar symptoms, the American Psychological Association started to identify it as a specific disorder many could potentially have; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There were many causes that were said to have caused PTSD, some that were identified in Psychological Assessment of Adult Posttraumatic States were: disasters, war, rape, sexual assault,large-scale, transportation accidents, emergency worker exposure to trauma, spouse or partner battery, torture, child abuse (1997). Like stated above, PTSD is not only for war victimes, it turns out that it started having different levels that was associated to children as well. This then caused for a creation of various assessments that could be administered depending on the age as well as the form of trauma.

Most people often fail to perceive trauma accurately. In many occasions, some individuals often dismiss or think of it as something that is curable. However, it is an unfortunate and complicated form of damage that requires careful consideration and is not easy to deal with. Besides, trauma occurs on a scale that varies depending on each individual. It is arguable that nearly every individual has dealt with trauma in their lives.

To lose something or someone close to you is a trauma at any age. The

This paper will define The Effects of Trauma and Crisis on Clients and Mental Health Counselors and give a brief overview on how these Natural and man-made disasters, crises, and other trauma-causing events have become a focus of the clinical mental health counseling profession. Due to the extreme trauma that children, adolescents and adult experience after a traumatic event it, is noted that most individuals that are exposed to traumatic experience usually develop major depression, generalized anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) later in

The authors of this literature review evaluated studies completed on adults who were 50 years or older and also experienced trauma as a child. They reviewed the impact childhood trauma has on their mental and physical health as older adults. They collected findings from 23 studies that were published between 1996 through 2011 and concluded that childhood trauma did in fact have negative effects on older adults mental and physical health. Although it is well known that trauma at a young age can have serious effects, especially on development, it is interesting to see how it also transitions into late adulthood.

Sixty percent of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.). This shocking statistic exemplifies the high prevalence of childhood trauma. Furthermore, twenty-six percent of children in the United States will witness or experience a traumatic event before the age of four. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.) Trauma is an extremely common and complex phenomenon. But what is trauma? According to Merriam Webster, trauma is defined as, “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury.” (Merriam Webster, 2017). Dr. Lenore C. Terr from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of America further describes trauma as unique to each individual. It can be caused by a series of events or one severe incident. Unfortunately, childhood trauma is usually experienced repeatedly. For example, many children endure sexual abuse, bullying, and severe family problems over and over again. Children may experience a variety of traumas that have lasting consequences on their mental health. Those who experience childhood trauma are more likely to develop psychological disorders. This occurs because their brains lack neuroplasticity, which inhibits their ability to adapt to various stressful circumstances.

Some personally experienced traumatic events are physical or sexual assault, natural or manmade disasters, physical or mental torture, or being diagnosed with a life threatening disease. With children it involves physical or sexual abuse. In addition, some traumatic events personally viewed are the serious physical injury or violent death of another person, whether caused by war, disaster, accident, or physical assault; or the unexpected sight of a body part or a deceased person. Further, some of the traumatic events a person hears or reads about are a sudden or violent death, a severe injury, or the physical attack of a relative or someone close (APA, 2000, pp.463-464).

The pervasiveness of these correlations is high and suggesting childhood trauma could play a major role in the psychological health of a person later in adulthood, and there have many studies which have been conducted that could support these theories.

There are many types of trauma that can effect an adolescent and without the proper treatment of the traumatic event the adolescent can have difficulty adapting and developing into adulthood. Kathleen J. Moroz, of the Vermont Agency of Human Services, defines trauma as a physical or psychological threat or assault to a child’s physical integrity, sense of self, safety of survival or to the physical safety of another person significant to the child. She goes on to list the types of trauma a child may be exposed to. Abuse of every kind, domestic violence, natural disasters, abandonment, serious illness or an accident are just a few traumatic events that can effect the development of a child. (2) When these events occur as an acute event

deal with it in a way that works for them. To refer to the “Myths of

Childhood trauma is one of the most heartbreaking situations to ever fathom happening. Childhood trauma includes neglect, maltreatment, physical and emotional abuse, and many other forms of mistreatment amongst children. Childhood trauma occurs between the ages of 0 and 6 years of age. When referencing to childhood trauma, one must take thought into who commits the abuse, who is affected by the abuse, and what long term effects can the abuse have on the victims. One must also take into consideration the sex differences when referring to childhood trauma. Numerous of studies have been conducted and many findings have been made. Prior to conducting this research paper, I only considered childhood trauma to be what it was and never considered the long term effects. Because of my assumption, I never even considered the other categories of the trauma.

Though trauma may be hereditary, it should not be made an excuse of one’s actions. I believe that it only takes one to break the chain of abuse. However, with recent studies, it has come to light that traumatic events can alter a person’s DNA allowing the effects of trauma to be carried throughout generations. As a result, this could make the breaking the chain incredibly more difficult in that the future generation is affected by the same trauma. Trauma is passed down through genetic markers that in the form of tags that form “to biologically prepare offspring for an environment similar to that of the parent.” (Yehuda). These tags that can the opposite effect on dominant or recessive genes. For example, if the gene is dominant, it may become recessive. As a result, the gene’s functionality has been altered thus causing a permanent change in the descendant’s DNA. According to Moshe Szyf, a researcher at McGill University, “the genes were switched off in response to a series of events, such as abuse during childhood”. For example, if even one person is traumatized by experiences, the generations after can acquire the same epigenetic modifications on their DNA. But this does not mean that only the ancestors trauma can affect the descendants, new trauma can also occur at any time in the line and not just a reaction to the original trauma. Therefore, the new markers that form would be passed down as well. So instead of just one person affected, many are because if the original

Trauma occurs when a child has experienced an event that threatens or causes harm to her emotional and physical well-being. Events can include war, terrorism, natural disasters, but the most common and harmful to a child’s psychosocial well-being are those such as domestic violence, neglect, physical and sexual abuse, maltreatment, and witnessing a traumatic event. While some children may experience a traumatic event and go on to develop normally, many children have long lasting implications into adulthood.

Throughout the years, several adults have been affected by traumatic events that have taken place during their childhood(s). Lenore C. Terr (January, 1999) states, "Childhood trauma appears to be a critical etiological factor in the development of a number of serious disorders both in childhood and in adulthood." To better understand childhood trauma, Terr defines this as, the "mental result of one sudden, external or a series of blows, rendering the young person temporarily helpless and breaking past ordinary coping and defense operations" (January, 1999). The statistics of childhood trauma is alarming. In the United States, there are approximately five million children that experience trauma each year, with two million of these cases

The term “Psychological trauma” refers to damage wrought from a traumatic event, which that damages one’s ability to cope with stressors. “Trauma” is commonly defined as an exposure to a situation in which a person is confronted with an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to self or others’ physical well-being (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Specific types of client trauma frequently encountered by which therapists and other mental health workers frequently encounter in a clinical setting include sexual abuse, physical , or sexual assault, natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, domestic violence, and school or/and work related violence (James & Gilliland, 2001). Traumatic