While you may have good intentions, sometimes certain comments can hurt more than help. It’s important to remember to look after yourself while caring for others. Secondary trauma is when you’re experiencing emotional distress from witnessing or having knowledge of a loved one’s traumatic event. Trauma affects the person involved in the traumatic event, but the impact can extend to loved ones. It’s essential to maintain your wellness and self-care practices while supporting your loved one’s needs. A common symptom of PTSD is difficulty concentrating, so you can offer to help with daily tasks, like preparing meals, shopping, or cleaning. Offer help with routine tasksīeing supportive can extend past talking. An excellent way to be supportive is to practice being patient. It’s best to avoid assuming you know what the person needs. Initially, after a traumatic event, a person might not know what they need. This also allows you to learn what their triggers (if any) are. If you’re present without any expectations about how they respond to triggers or express their emotions, you can offer your support and be attentive to any emotional or behavioral changes with your loved one. An example of emotional space would be not pressuring them to speak about the experience of the event or their PTSD reactions but letting them know you’re there if they need you. Space can also refer to emotional space, which can be very important for supporting a loved one. Avoid touching, like giving hugs, without their expressed permission. Your loved one might feel anxious and be on guard. Support their need for spaceĪfter a traumatic event, it’s common to lose a sense of safety. Listening to your loved one without judgment or pressure can go a long way in helping them. Try to support your loved one with active listening.Īctive listening is less about responding and more about attentively focusing on what’s shared. Triggers may not always be evident to others, as triggers tend to elicit internal experiences, like emotional or physical discomfort. Sometimes, triggers can set off memories and physical symptoms where your loved one relives the event. Receiving the right support from a therapist can help reduce their impact.Īfter a trauma, people may experience triggers, which can be anything that reminds them of the event and results in an emotional response or PTSD symptom. If you notice these responses in your loved one, know that this is normal. dissociation, where they seem to withdraw or shut down.avoiding things that remind you of trauma, such as places or people.self-blame, or blaming others for the event.nightmares, which can involve a common theme from the event or associated feelings.Some of the more common responses to trauma are: According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), PTSD is defined as a condition that develops in some people who’ve experienced (or witnessed) a shocking, frightening, or dangerous event.Īfter experiencing a traumatic event, people may have different emotional responses. Severe traumatic experiences can cause the condition PTSD. The stress of complex trauma can negatively affect a person’s relationships, work life, and physical health. The American Psychological Association (APA) describes trauma as an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, sexual assault, or natural disaster.Ĭomplex trauma refers to a particular set of symptoms resulting from what may often be multiple events, such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Some people recover quickly from a traumatic event, but others may have lasting difficulties. Trauma is often used as an umbrella term that can refer to the traumatic event itself, extremely high levels of general stress in response to an event, or PTSD (a specific set of experiences in response to an event). The term “trauma” doesn’t just mean PTSD. While you don’t need to know everything about trauma to help your loved one, you need to be informed. A general understanding of what trauma is and how it can impact lives can go a long way in helping. Get informed about the effects of traumaĪlthough the vast amount of information can feel overwhelming, the first step in helping your loved one is to get informed about trauma. There can be a sense of helplessness when seeing your loved one deal with trauma.īelow is a list of tips you can use to help support your loved one after a traumatic event. Trauma isn’t just about the traumatic event that occurred but also the response to it. According to the Sidran Institute, around 70% of adults in the United States experience a traumatic event in their lifetimes, and around 20% of them go on to develop symptoms that meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma is a prevalent and almost universal occurrence.
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