Here is another section on trauma from my new book Transforming Pain Into Power: The Story of North Wales Recovery Communities.
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Traumatic, or long-term, unpredictable stressful experiences, lead to a sensitisation of the body’s stress response systems such that they become hyper-vigilant or hyper-reactive in the future. The latter states may lead to further problems for the person, including being re-traumatised by another event or person—including health care practitioners, institutions, or systems—due to the person’s sensitised stress response system. A person’s emotional and behavioural responses arising from their sensitised stress-response system may lead to them being mis-diagnosed by a GP or psychiatrist as having a mental health condition, with resulting further negative repercussions, e.g., an unnecessary drug treatment and resulting adverse reactions.
A child living with domestic violence may show the adaptive response of scanning his home for any sign of a threat. However, in a classroom, this scanning can prevent the child from paying attention to a teacher, and subsequently being diagnosed as having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). She or he may then be prescribed Ritalin (methylphenidate) or dex- amphetamine, both of which are addictive and classed as illegal unless one has a prescription. Both drugs can cause psychotic reactions. There is no scientific evidence that ADHD actually exists, or that amphetamine-like drugs have a beneficial long-term effect in children or adults who have been prescribed them.
A hyper-vigilant, hyper-reactive or dissociating adult may be ‘mistakenly’ told by a psychiatrist or GP that he/she is suffering from schizophrenia and be prescribed antipsychotic drugs which often cause serious motor side effects. A person suffering from anxiety arising from a past traumatic experience may be prescribed a benzodiazepine drug (e.g., Librium), a class of drug which is highly addictive and often causes serious withdrawal effects when the person stops taking it. It is important to emphasise that prescription drugs are responsible for more deaths than illegal drugs.
A traumatised person often feels shame and/or guilt, which just adds to their psychological pain. They often become disconnected from other people, which adds to their woes. Positive relationships are key for helping people overcome problems arising from past traumatic experiences. Trauma shatters relationships.
A person who has been traumatised can start using drugs (illegal and/or prescription) and/or drinking alcohol excessively to alleviate their psychological pain. This substance use may develop into an addiction, at which time the drug or alcohol becomes less of a solution and more of a problem. A common consequence of such addictive behaviour is that the person becomes disconnected from family and friends, and their normal lifestyle. They become stigmatised by society, which leads to further isolation and feelings of shame and guilt.
Finally, it should also be noted that trauma can be passed down the generations, as has happened with Indigenous peoples of a number of countries due to colonisation by Europeans. This form of trauma is known as transgenerational trauma, or historical trauma. One way that trauma can be passed down the generations is when traumatised parents are unable to provide the consistent and predictable care a child needs for normal development of their stress response system. In this case, the resulting sensitisation of the child’s stress response system can lead them to experiencing problems later in their life. The impact of trauma can ripple out in the present, and out into the future.
‘…trauma permeates all aspects of life; it echoes through the generations, across families, communities, institutions, cultures, and societies, and it does so in very complex ways. Trauma can impact our genes, white blood cells, heart, gut, lungs, and brain, our thinking, feeling, behaving, parenting, teaching, coaching, consuming, creating, prescribing, arresting, sentencing. I could go on.’ Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey, What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing