What is trauma?
Trauma is a human response to an event or experience that causes your brain to be overloaded with the enormity of what happened and overwhelms your ability to cope. Trauma is often, but not always, related to exposure to death or the threat of dying. It can put your body and mind into fight, flight, or freeze mode, referred to as trauma response.
Sometimes, the mind and body can become so overwhelmed that it affects the ability to respond, or cope. In extreme circumstances, someone who has experienced trauma may temporarily not be able to function physically or emotionally.
It is not only the nature of the event or the experience that makes it traumatic, but also how the event is experienced and interpreted by the individual. This is why when two people experience the same event, one may have a trauma response, and the other doesn’t. Just like grief, trauma varies from person to person.
OSI and PTSD
Exposure to traumatic events such as deaths, combat, gruesome scenes, inhumanity, sexual assault, or natural disasters can produce a range of effects that are called operational stress injuries or OSIs.
Post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) is a broad term that refers to the physiological impact of trauma on the brain and the body. Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is a psychological diagnosis for distress that significantly impairs a person’s ability to function in daily life. PTSD is an OSI.
I was diagnosed with trauma-induced PTSD very early on. My partner was killed in a vehicle roll over and his roommate was shot a month later, and then Constable Dennis Strongquill was murdered. There were some pretty violent exchanges throughout my career. - RCMP Veteran
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder or C-PTSD occurs when a person experienced frequent traumatic events over a prolonged period that result in uncontrollable emotions, feeling completely different from others, and persistent feelings of horror, powerlessness, and unimportance.
Overall, while the distress caused by grief and trauma can be similar, they are very distinct phenomenon. If you think you or someone close to you is experiencing PTSI, PTSD, or C-PTSD it is best to consult with a trained professional who can accurately assess the situation and recommend appropriate treatment. Usually, psychological distress related to trauma must be dealt with before grief-related issues can be addressed.
It’s important to note that not everyone who is exposed to a traumatic event will go on to develop an OSI, PTSI or PTSD.
