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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Origin== Greek ''traumat''-, ''trauma'' wound, alteration of ''trōma''; akin to Greek ''titrōskein'' to woun...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Trauma.jpg|right|frame]]

==Origin==
[[Greek]] ''traumat''-, ''trauma'' wound, alteration of ''trōma''; akin to [[Greek]] ''titrōskein'' to wound, ''tetrainein'' to pierce
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1693]
==Definitions==
*1a : an [[injury]] (as a wound) to living tissue caused by an extrinsic [[agent]]
:b : a disordered [[psychic]] or [[behavioral]] state resulting from severe mental or [[emotional]] [[stress]] or [[physical]] [[injury]]
:c : an emotional upset <the personal trauma of an executive who is not living up to his own [[expectations]] — Karen W. Arenson>
*2: an [[agent]], [[force]], or [[mechanism]] that causes trauma
==Description==
[[Psychological]] '''trauma''' ([[Greek]]: Ψυχολογικό τραύμα - Psychologico travma) is a type of damage to the [[psyche]] that occurs as a result of a traumatic [[event]]. When that trauma leads to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder posttraumatic stress disorder], damage may involve [[physical]] [[changes]] inside the [[brain]] and to brain chemistry, which changes the person's [[response]] to [[future]] [[stress]].

A traumatic event involves a single [[experience]], or an enduring or [[repeating]] event or events, that completely overwhelm the individual's [[ability]] to cope or [[integrate]] the [[ideas]] and [[emotions]] involved with that experience. The sense of being overwhelmed can be [[delayed]] by weeks, years or even decades, as the [[person]] [[struggles]] to cope with the immediate [[circumstances]]. Psychological trauma can lead to serious long-term [[negative]] [[consequences]] that are often overlooked even by mental health [[professionals]]: "If clinicians fail to look through a trauma [[lens]] and to conceptualize client problems as related possibly to current or [[past]] trauma, they may fail to see that trauma [[victims]], young and old, organize much of their lives around [[repetitive]] [[patterns]] of reliving and warding off traumatic memories, reminders, and affects."

Trauma can be caused by a wide variety of [[events]], but there are a few common aspects. There is frequently a [[violation]] of the person's familiar [[ideas]] about the world and of their human [[rights]], putting the person in a state of [[extreme]] [[confusion]] and insecurity. This is also seen when people or [[institutions]], depended on for [[survival]], violate or betray or [[disillusion]] the person in some unforeseen way.

Psychological trauma may accompany [[physical]] trauma or exist independently of it. Typical causes and [[dangers]] of psychological trauma are [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_abuse sexual abuse], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying bullying], domestic violence, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoctrination indoctrination], the [[victim]] of alcoholism, the threat of either, or the [[witnessing]] of either, particularly in [[childhood]]. [[Catastrophic]] [[events]] such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, [[war]] or other mass [[violence]] can also cause psychological trauma. Long-term exposure to situations such as [[extreme]] [[poverty]] or milder forms of [[abuse]], such as verbal abuse, can be traumatic (though verbal abuse can also potentially be traumatic as a single event).

However, different people will react differently to similar events. One person may [[experience]] an event as traumatic while another person would not suffer trauma as a result of the same event. In other [[words]], not all people who [[experience]] a potentially traumatic event will actually become psychologically traumatized.

Some [[theories]] suggest [[childhood]] trauma can lead to [[violent]] [[behavior]]. Some ideas believe such violent behavior can be as [[extreme]] as serial murder. For example, Hickey's Trauma-Control Model which suggests "childhood trauma for serial murderers may serve as a triggering mechanism resulting in an individual’s inability to cope with the stress of certain events."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_trauma]

[[Category: Psychology]]