Kitty Martin, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
What is trauma?
(This article should not be substituted for professional psychiatric care or diagnosis.)
I have many clients who reluctantly come to see me who share “I’ve put this off because I don’t have trauma or anything major that happened”. They go on to say that they had normal childhoods and good parents but don’t understand why they feel anxious and depressed.
As we get to know each other and they feel more comfortable sharing details about their upbringing or family of origin, it becomes clear – they do indeed have trauma.
The most current version of the DSM only offers one diagnosis for trauma- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Up until recently, most practitioners and lay people were led to believe that PTSD was the only kind of trauma and the diagnosis was reserved for war or severe injury victims or severe abuse. Over the past decade, more research and evidence shows that many more people experience trauma symptoms than previously thought… but their symptoms don’t fit the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
According to the DSM-5, the diagnostic criteria for PTSD are as follows: (simplified)
- Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.
- Presence of one (or more) intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic event(s),
- Negative alterations in thoughts and mood associated with the traumatic event(s),
You can read the full criteria here:
DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD
Intrusion symptoms and negative alterations in thought or mood are very common- most of my clients report experiencing these unpleasant symptoms. Intrusion symptoms are things like flashbacks, nightmares, or triggers. While an official PTSD diagnosis can only be given by a licensed practitioner or doctor, this simple definition can help many people identify if they have some kind of trauma.
The most recent research and professional wisdom is that most people, if not all, have experienced some form of trauma over their lifespan. Simply put, trauma can be anything that occurs outside of the Will of the Divine. There are several factors that determine a person’s likelihood that they may or may not develop trauma symptoms – these include neuroplasticity, resiliency, and environmental factors. Two people could experience the same trauma incident and one may develop lasting symptoms and one may not.
Trauma is relative to the individual who experiences it and their unique situation. For some, repeat exposure to certain weather conditions may be traumatic! For most who have mild to severe symptoms, the trauma was experienced in small doses over a period of time. This is what many of my clients are experiencing – they just don’t know that this exists and have the common misconception that trauma must be severe to “count” as trauma. This common experience of developing trauma symptoms due to a continuous exposure to a toxic environment is what is now known as complex PTSD- you can look for a future article on c-PTSD.
So, do you have trauma? That is for you to determine. If you are experiencing flashbacks, nightmares, and avoidance of triggers that are related to an incident or series of incidents – it’s safe to assume that you have experienced a trauma. If you have a hard time letting go of a story, a memory, and that memory seems to infiltrate your life experience, that’s trauma.
Mental health professionals have had significant difficulties treating trauma. This is because traditional talk therapy only does one thing for trauma – repeat it.
PTSD develops due to a person repeating the trauma story over and over in their mind/memory but not Knowing how to heal it. The MAP process helps the client quickly process and release the story by empowering clients to rewrite the story and reclaim their power.
Trauma can disempower a person for a long time… sometimes forever if it goes unaddressed. The replaying of the story begins to wire neurons together in the brain that have other jobs to do like remembering things, organizing thoughts, or controlling emotions. The trauma eventually consumes the mind, making it difficult to do these things and enjoy life.
The MAP process is a quick and easy intervention to work through ANY trauma incident or narrative that you have. You’ll find that soon you’ll be rewiring your thoughts and feeling better!
My professional encouragement – remember the MAP process and use it when doing your inner work and ongoing healing after MAP. These skills will help you to continue to heal yourself and prevent future trauma symptoms from developing.
Happy healing,
Kitty Martin LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
What is Trauma?
(This article should not be substituted for professional psychiatric care or diagnosis.)
I have many clients who reluctantly come to see me who share “I’ve put this off because I don’t have trauma or anything major that happened”. They go on to say that they had normal childhoods and good parents but don’t understand why they feel anxious and depressed.
As we get to know each other and they feel more comfortable sharing details about their upbringing or family of origin, it becomes clear – they do indeed have trauma.
The most current version of the DSM only offers one diagnosis for trauma- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Up until recently, most practitioners and lay people were led to believe that PTSD was the only kind of trauma and the diagnosis was reserved for war or severe injury victims or severe abuse. Over the past decade, more research and evidence shows that many more people experience trauma symptoms than previously thought… but their symptoms don’t fit the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
According to the DSM-5, the diagnostic criteria for PTSD are as follows: (simplified)
- Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.
- Presence of one (or more) intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic event(s),
- Negative alterations in thoughts and mood associated with the traumatic event(s),
You can read the full criteria here:
DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD
Intrusion symptoms and negative alterations in thought or mood are very common- most of my clients report experiencing these unpleasant symptoms. Intrusion symptoms are things like flashbacks, nightmares, or triggers. While an official PTSD diagnosis can only be given by a licensed practitioner or doctor, this simple definition can help many people identify if they have some kind of trauma.
The most recent research and professional wisdom is that most people, if not all, have experienced some form of trauma over their lifespan. Simply put, trauma can be anything that occurs outside of the Will of the Divine. There are several factors that determine a person’s likelihood that they may or may not develop trauma symptoms – these include neuroplasticity, resiliency, and environmental factors. Two people could experience the same trauma incident and one may develop lasting symptoms and one may not.
Trauma is relative to the individual who experiences it and their unique situation. For some, repeat exposure to certain weather conditions may be traumatic! For most who have mild to severe symptoms, the trauma was experienced in small doses over a period of time. This is what many of my clients are experiencing – they just don’t know that this exists and have the common misconception that trauma must be severe to “count” as trauma. This common experience of developing trauma symptoms due to a continuous exposure to a toxic environment is what is now known as complex PTSD- you can look for a future article on c-PTSD.
So, do you have trauma? That is for you to determine. If you are experiencing flashbacks, nightmares, and avoidance of triggers that are related to an incident or series of incidents – it’s safe to assume that you have experienced a trauma. If you have a hard time letting go of a story, a memory, and that memory seems to infiltrate your life experience, that’s trauma.
Mental health professionals have had significant difficulties treating trauma. This is because traditional talk therapy only does one thing for trauma – repeat it.
PTSD develops due to a person repeating the trauma story over and over in their mind/memory but not Knowing how to heal it. The MAP process helps the client quickly process and release the story by empowering clients to rewrite the story and reclaim their power.
Trauma can disempower a person for a long time… sometimes forever if it goes unaddressed. The replaying of the story begins to wire neurons together in the brain that have other jobs to do like remembering things, organizing thoughts, or controlling emotions. The trauma eventually consumes the mind, making it difficult to do these things and enjoy life.
The MAP process is a quick and easy intervention to work through ANY trauma incident or narrative that you have. You’ll find that soon you’ll be rewiring your thoughts and feeling better!
My professional encouragement – remember the MAP process and use it when doing your inner work and ongoing healing after MAP. These skills will help you to continue to heal yourself and prevent future trauma symptoms from developing.
Happy healing,
Kitty Martin LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
