Impacts of Trauma

Experiencing trauma impacts both mental and physical health, and everyone experiences trauma differently. There is no wrong or right way to feel or react. As the body and mind process the devastation of sexual violence, many different emotions, behaviours and physical responses appear and disappear. This is recognised form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The feelings you feel are real. What happened to you was real. It wasn’t your fault, regardless of how you reacted or the circumstances leading up to the assault. You are never to blame for someone else’s actions.

Examples of Triggers:

Tone of voice
A facial expression or gesture
Images or discussions on television or phone etc.
Visiting certain places
Certain smells

A trigger is referred to a lot in relation with PTSD, it is something that ‘sets off’ a memory that transports someone back to the event that caused the original trauma. Triggers are very personal and express themselves in many different ways. These triggers are stored in the area of the brain responsible for remembering danger and keeping us safe, and the memories can be buried in such a way that an individual may not know what will set this off.

It can often feel impossible to stop the immediate physical or emotional response to a trigger, but there are tools that can be used to calm yourself and get through the experience. More information can be found here.

Experiencing Trauma

While each survivor is unique in their experience, many are impacted in the following ways:

Shame – Thinking they are wrong or permanently flawed

Guilt – Often feeling that the abuse was their fault. Often the offender was a person known to them that they may want to protect. Conversely, it may be that placing the blame on the offender reinforces their perception of their helplessness or loss of power.

Denial/Minimising – “It wasn’t that bad” “It only happened once” “It’s not a big deal”

Boundaries/Trust – Sexual violence is a boundary violation and a betrayal of trust. It impacts survivor’s perception of boundaries and their ability to reinforce them, which affects their ability to trust themselves and the people around them.

Isolation – Is a significant issue for adult survivors, with shame and guilt leading them to feel as though they do not deserve support. Culture and community connections may have them in fear of socialisation and compound these feelings of isolation.

Dissociation – Disconnection from their own mind and/or body. This can occur during the trauma or be triggered later on by an event or memory.

Anaesthesia – Many survivors may feel betrayed by their own bodies and seek to numb their sensations, often through the use of alcohol or other substances. Alternatively, they may seek to drown out the numbness with experiences which provide a more intense physical sensation such as self-harm.

Emotional – Whether being overly expressive through anger or depression, or controlled in a distant, calm manner.

Cognitive – Either being unable to block out memories of the assault or even forgetting entire parts of it. Obsessing over what should have been done different, nightmares are common. Some may even have erotic thoughts or fantasies of being in similar situations and ‘mastering’ the event.

Other related issues such as eating disorders, physical changes, substance abuse, self-harm or even thoughts of suicide, and mood disorders such as depression are also potential outcomes.

These feelings can be overwhelming, and emotions may trigger without notice. These feelings may make it difficult to see help at first, but even though these feelings are very real, don’t let them prevent you from seeking help or medical care.

There are three phases typically associated with this form of trauma:

Immediate phase: Occurs during and shortly after experiencing trauma – the brain trying to understand what’s happening. This stage may feel akin to a mental and physical fog, emotions are very strong, and it can be very difficult to see what is next or settling into a regular rhythm.
- Anxiety, mood swings and confusion are common

Underground phase: Occurs as a survivor attempts to move on from the trauma, often trying to block out the memory, downplay its importance, or pretend it never happened. This tends to be the longest phase, lasting for months or even years.

Resolution phase: Begins when the trauma is recognised and steps are taken to begin to adapt and heal from the experience.

To begin resolution, you will need to face your trauma and confront your triggers, which can be extremely difficult. But you will learn to manage this trauma and live your life.

The smallest steps taken in your daily life can begin the path to healing. More on this can be found here.