Trauma is a psychological, emotional response to an event or an experience that is deeply distressing or disturbing.  You may be affected in an emotional, physical, spiritual or psychological way. It may be caused by a one off event or something that has happened more than once. For example, it may be caused by a natural disaster such as flood or fire. Equally it may be caused by a traumatic event such as a road traffic collision, witnessing or experiencing violence or abuse, or a traumatic birth.

People need time and support to recover from the trauma, and not all traumatic events lead to trauma in all people. For some people they may develop PTSD following the traumatic event.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a disabling anxiety that people can develop following exposure to one or more traumatic events. Symptoms include;

• Unwanted thoughts & memories of the trauma
• Flashbacks
• Nightmares
• Feeling emotionally upset, tearful or irritable when reminded of the trauma
• Physical symptoms in response to reminders of the trauma, such as sweating, shaking or a racing heart beat
• Avoiding talking about the trauma, thinking about it or feelings associated with it
• Avoiding reminders of the trauma: people, places or activities
• Feeling emotionally numb, difficulty experiencing feelings like love or happiness
• Feeling detached or cut off from others, finding it difficult to be close to anyone
• Loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable
• Difficulty sleeping
• Difficulty concentrating
• Feeling overly alert or watchful
• Feeling jumpy