During childhood, there are certain moments that leave memories that last throughout life. Sometimes, we are confronted with unpleasant situations that generate nerves, anxiety, anguish and/or discomfort. However, it is possible for these feelings to reappear at later times in life through different situations that we go through. When this happens to us, we say that we have a complex trauma.
Complex traumas can affect our relationships with other people, influence work performance or affect our daily routine. They appear before us at unexpected times and cause us great difficulties. Do you want to know what a complex trauma is, what its symptoms are, the criteria for diagnosing them, and the guidelines for addressing them? We invite you to continue reading this Psychology-Online article.
What is complex trauma
Let’s look at the difference between simple trauma and complex trauma:
Simple trauma
We speak of a simple trauma when we refer to a specific event that has produced an unpleasant emotion in us which caused us discomfort at the time it occurred. These situations can happen to us at different times in life and the impact they produce is of great importance since the same emotions that we have felt can reappear in the future. Among simple traumas we can mention accidents, physical injuries, robberies, death of loved ones, among others.
Complex trauma
When we talk about complex traumas we are referring to an emotion linked to a memory that produced us anxiety or fear and that has been repeated over a long period of time. They happen mostly in childhood and the reasons can be diverse, such as family violence, abuse, mistreatment, illnesses of oneself and/or loved ones, divorces, thefts, deaths, accidents, migration from one country to another, etc. These types of situations cause us a lot of suffering when they occur and are difficult to cope with. Traumas are present throughout our lives and their manifestations can occur in different ways.
In this article, you will find more information about .
Types of trauma
There are three groups of traumas: type 1, 2 and 3 traumas:
- Type 1 traumas They are those specific situations in life in which events occurred that had a great impact on us.
- Then we have type 2 traumawhich are several situations that occur in a short time and have a longer duration than type 1 traumas.
- Finally, type 3 trauma They consist of repeated situations in childhood for the person that have long-term effects. Type 3 traumas have the characteristic of being moments with a great burden of suffering for the person who suffers.
Symptoms of complex trauma
When someone is exposed to a complex trauma, there are usually consequences that will be seen after some time in the person. Although it depends on the way each human being reacts to difficult situations, we can mention some general characteristics that appear in people who have suffered complex traumas. We will divide them into three large groups: psychosomatic symptoms, cognitive symptoms and emotional symptoms.
- Psychosomatic symptoms: They are those sensations that happen in the body. These include insomnia, digestive problems, headaches, skin problems, nightmares, not being able to hold urine, among others.
- Cognitive symptoms: They are those thoughts that appear after complex trauma. Here we can mention certain difficulties in concentration and attention, low tolerance for frustration, low self-esteem, negative ideas about the person themselves and about the world, school learning problems, among others.
- Behavioral symptoms: They are those behaviors that appear after complex trauma. In this group we can highlight aggression, addictions, stuttering, risky behaviors, impulsiveness, constant crying, among others.
It is very important to know what symptoms occur in a person who has been exposed to a complex trauma. In this way, we will be able to know how to help her overcome these situations through a series of guidelines that we will see below.
Diagnostic criteria for complex trauma
There are some diagnostic criteria that serve to detect that we have gone through a complex trauma. Next, we will describe some that are of great importance:
- Difficulties in regulating emotions
- Loss of temporary memories
- body aches
- Feelings of guilt and shame
- Difficulty trusting people
- Avoidance of social relationships
- Loss of life beliefs
In order to diagnose complex trauma, the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is usually used, which has information about . This disorder occurs when one or more traumas have occurred for a long time in a person’s life.
How to treat complex trauma
As we have already mentioned, complex traumas are often related to previous life events. It is important that we know the criteria to overcome these traumas. Below, we will describe some of them.
- Do therapy: Therapy helps us solve problems that cause us discomfort or anguish in life. A professional will guide us towards the best way to work with complex traumas and understand the meaning they have. Among the most suitable therapies to address these traumas is emotion-focused therapy, psychodynamic therapy, group therapy, systemic family therapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy, among others.
- Do meditation: Meditation has great positive effects on us. This tool will give us inner tranquility and help calm the thoughts that come from those painful moments. Here you will find the .
- Thought Record: This technique allows us to know what thoughts appear to us in different everyday life situations that have their origin in complex traumas. You can take a piece of paper and write down every day for a few weeks an emotion that you have felt in a certain situation. Next to it, write down the thought you had. Finally, see if this emotion repeats itself for several days. This will allow you to identify those thoughts and be able to replace them with others.
- Take responsibility for our actions: Many times we are left blaming our parents or those who gave us an unpleasant time during our childhood. Here it is important to understand that we must take charge of how we react to many daily events since this will allow us to modify our behavior in the future.
In the following article, we explain. Each particular case requires a treatment that adapts to what each person needs to feel a little better. This article aims to provide information about the general characteristics of complex traumas. If you have a similar problem, we suggest you go to a professional.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Complex trauma: what it is, symptoms, criteria and treatmentwe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (5th ed.). Washington DC.
- Bleichmar, H. (2000). Biology of post-traumatic stress. Psychoanalytic Openings6. Recovered from http://www.aperturas.org/articulos.php?id=141&a=Biologia-del-trastorno-de-estres-postraumatico
- Jarero, I. (2014). Comments on Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Perspectives from DSM-5 and ICD-11. Ibero-American Journal of Psychotraumatology and Dissociation. Vol. 6. No. 1. ISSN: 2007-8544
- Marín, JL (2014). Trauma and psychosomatic disorders. Spanish Society of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy. College of Psychologists of Madrid.