Psychological trauma, therefore, can be defined as a "soul wound", as something that breaks the usual way of life and has a negative impact on the person.
In other words, trauma is any event that a person perceives as extremely stressful. It can be a threat to physical integrity or psychological identity.
Mainly two types of trauma can be distinguished. The "small traumas" or "t", or those subjectively disturbing experiences that are characterized by a perception of danger that is not particularly understood. This category may include events such as humiliation or abrupt interactions with significant people in childhood, experiences of neglect or disrespect and care that affect an individual's sense of worth, safety, self-esteem and sense of personal efficacy.
Alongside these minor traumas there are T-traumas, i.e. all those events that lead to death or threaten one's physical integrity or that of loved ones. This category includes large-scale events, such as natural disasters, abuses, accidents, etc.
The symptoms that can occur following a traumatic experience are not unique. They vary according to the severity of the trauma, but, above all, they depend on the subjective response of those who have suffered it.
Generally the symptoms are:
• intense fear, feelings of helplessness or horror;
• constantly reliving the traumatic event with intrusive images, thoughts or perceptions, dreams, flashbacks, intense physiological reactivity to exposure to factors resembling some aspect of the traumatic event;
• avoidance of thoughts, feelings, activities, places or people that evoke memories of the trauma;
• inability to remember some important aspect of the trauma;
• marked reduction in interest or participation in significant activities;
• feelings of detachment or estrangement from others, reduced affectivity;
• feelings of diminished future prospects;
• increased nervous activation, with difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or tantrums, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance.