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What is trauma? What makes an experience traumatic?
SAID ALOUD
What is trauma? What makes an experience traumatic?
Aims. To explain trauma and human responses to it, and share our understanding of them.
PART II: THE TRAINING
Trainer. Now we will speak about trauma and why such events affect us very strongly and in different ways.
We say that an event is traumatic when it is overwhelming, inescapable and very frightening; it involves loss of control and goes beyond what we are normally prepared to deal with. We say an event is traumatic when it harms someone so much that he or she does not believe she can continue to function or go on living.
Dramatic events can traumatise us. Human beings will have strong reactions after overwhelming experiences. Rape is such an experience. We all share certain reactions after very threatening events. But some people are more vulnerable than others and many factors influence vulnerability. Young people may be more vulnerable than those who are older. But this is not always so. In addition to biological factors, a survivor’ s vulnerability is influenced by her security or insecurity, the support that is available to her, and her training and education before and after the trauma. When a person is exposed to severe trauma, such as rape, we could say that it creates a‘ traumaillness’ – that is, a serious and painful stress reaction. But we must be prepared to deal with many different kinds of reactions and symptoms, even among individuals who are exposed to similar events.
Exercise 4. What makes an event traumatic?( 15 minutes in plenary.)
EXERCISE
Reflect together.
• In your society, what is considered a traumatic event?
• How are the survivors you meet affected by what has happened to them?
• What reactions are the same? What reactions are different?
• How do the women themselves talk about their reactions?
• What do think is specific about your setting?