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Trauma and Abuse

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines trauma as the emotional response someone has to an extremely negative event. Trauma can also be caused by repeated minor painful events. Trauma and abuse can have long-term effects on your mental health and be disruptive to your everyday life.

There are self-help mind and body therapies available to help deal with trauma, but if you feel that you need professional help to treat depression, stress, or any other negative effects caused by trauma, reach out to Student Counseling Services to get the support that you need.

On This Page:

What is Trauma?

Trauma is the emotional response someone has to an extremely negative event. This may include feelings of guilt, sadness, and anger. You may be in shock and/or denial for a while.

The response can also be physical, such as an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and sweat production. These are all normal ways that your body responds to an emergency situation. When these reactions do not go away after a few weeks, it may be time to seek help.

Some common causes of trauma include:

  • Childhood Physical, Emotional, and/or Sexual Abuse
  • Intimate Partner Violence
  • Rape
  • Natural Disasters
  • Serious Medical Illness or Injury
  • Grief
  • Witnessing Violence
  • Bullying

Understanding and Addressing Abuse

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Signs and Symptoms of Trauma

Listed below are common responses to trauma. Most of them can be helpful in the days and weeks after a traumatic event, but when the strategies are utilized over an extended period of time, they can have negative psychological consequences.

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Most of us experience some sort of trauma in our lives, and we all react to trauma differently. It is normal to have intense reactions after a trauma and not have a disorder. In other words, there is not a certain way we should think, feel, or respond. Your responses are normal reactions to abnormal events. Symptoms typically last from a few days to a few months, gradually decreasing as you process the event. If your symptoms do not ease up or become worse, then you may be experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Trauma causes PTSD when people get stuck in their reactions to trauma and are unable to make sense of, or process, what happened. When this happens, seeking out a Trauma specialist can help eliminate or decrease these symptoms to a more tolerable window.

Trauma and PTSD Screening Tools

These screening tools can help determine if it may be time to seek professional help.

  • (assessment results included resources in PA. Please refer to  for resources near you)

Coping with Trauma

  • (YouTube video)

Relaxation & Mindfulness

Research shows that relaxation and mindfulness exercises can help to improve a person’s mental health, physical health, and overall well-being. Here are some practices that help you regulate negative emotions.

  • Grounding Methods: If you live with PTSD, you may feel torn between the present and the past. As much as you want to be present, traumatic memories have a strong pull. Using an anchor can help ground you in the present.

Additional Self-Help Resources


  • by Bessel dan der Kolk
    A pioneering researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing. Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Such experiences inevitably leave traces on minds, emotions, and even on biology. Sadly, trauma sufferers frequently pass on their stress to their partners and children.

  • by Mark Wolynn
    A groundbreaking approach to transforming traumatic legacies passed down in families over generations, by an acclaimed expert in the field. Depression. Anxiety. Chronic Pain. Phobias. Obsessive thoughts. The evidence is compelling: the roots of these difficulties may not reside in our immediate life experience or in chemical imbalances in our brains—but in the lives of our parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. The latest scientific research, now making headlines, supports what many have long intuited—that traumatic experience can be passed down through generations. These emotional legacies are often hidden, encoded in everything from gene expression to everyday language, and they play a far greater role in our emotional and physical health than has ever before been understood.

  • by Bruce Perry
    In this instant classic of developmental psychology, a renowned psychiatrist examines the effect that trauma can have on a child, reveals how PTSD impacts the developing mind, and outlines the path to recovery. Deftly combining unforgettable case histories with his own compassionate, insightful strategies for rehabilitation, Perry explains what exactly happens to the brain when a child is exposed to extreme stress -- and reveals the unexpected measures that can be taken to ease a child's pain and help him grow into a healthy adult.

  • by Bruce Perry, MD, PhD and Oprah Winfrey
    Through wide-ranging and often deeply personal conversation, Oprah Winfrey and Dr Perry explore how what happens to us in early childhood – both good and bad - influences the people we become. They challenge us to shift from focusing on 'What’s wrong with you?' or 'Why are you behaving that way?' to asking 'What happened to you?'. This simple change in perspective can open up a new and hopeful understanding for millions about why we do the things we do, why we are the way we are, providing a road map for repairing relationships, overcoming what seems insurmountable, and ultimately living better and more fulfilling lives.

  • by Lindsay Gibson
    In this breakthrough book, clinical psychologist Lindsay Gibson exposes the destructive nature of parents who are emotionally immature or unavailable. You will see how these parents create a sense of neglect, and discover ways to heal from the pain and confusion caused by your childhood. By freeing yourself from your parents’ emotional immaturity, you can recover your true nature, control how you react to them, and avoid disappointment. Finally, you’ll learn how to create positive, new relationships so you can build a better life.

  • by Peter Levine
    Waking the Tiger offers a new and hopeful vision of trauma. It views the human animal as a unique being, endowed with an instinctual capacity. It asks and answers an intriguing question: why are animals in the wild, though threatened routinely, rarely traumatized? By understanding the dynamics that make wild animals virtually immune to traumatic symptoms, the mystery of human trauma is revealed.

  • by David Treleaven
    Drawing on a decade of research and clinical experience, psychotherapist and educator David Treleaven shows that mindfulness meditation―practiced without an awareness of trauma―can exacerbate symptoms of traumatic stress. Instructed to pay close, sustained attention to their inner world, survivors can experience flashbacks, dissociation, and even retraumatization. This raises a crucial question for mindfulness teachers, trauma professionals, and survivors everywhere: How can we minimize the potential dangers of mindfulness for survivors while leveraging its powerful benefits? Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness offers answers to this question.

  • by Pete Walker

  • by Dr. Nicole LePera

Tik Toks on Healing Trauma

  • Healwithbritt
  • Kobecampbell_ LCMHC
  • jimbrillion, LMFT, LPC
  • Healinghumanity777
  • Ericacarullilpc
  • drskyrealworldtherapy

Instagram on Healing

  • tribecaintegrativetherapy
  • thebrownperfection
  • mentalhealthamerica
  • Journey_to_wellness_
  • the.holistic.psychologist
  • complextraumahealing
  • traumaawarecare
  • transcending_trauma_with_yoga
  • thespanglishtherapist

Podcasts for Intimate Partner Violence

  • Shatterproof by Mickie Zada
  • I’m not in an Abusive Relationship by DASAS
  • Root for each other Branches domestic violence shelter
  • Domestic abuse recovery journal by Jennifer Mixor
  • After Dark by Isaac Marano

Podcasts for Trauma

  • Self Care for survivors of Trauma by Erin Hearts
  • Beyond Trauma by Jen Savage, Melisa Sund Wall, and Bridger FAlkestein
  • It’s not you; its’ your trauma by Joe Ryan
  • Unbroken: Reclaiming Your Self after Childhood trauma
  • Regulated and Relational by Julie Beem and Ginger Healy
  • Being Well by Dr. Rick Hanson
  • Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness by David Treleaver
  • Trauma Chat with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C