Trauma
Information
Here you’ll find answers to some common questions concerning trauma.
Select the underlined questions below to see more.
What is trauma?
How does trauma work?
What can trauma feel like?
What events can cause trauma?
What is trauma?
Trauma is an emotional response that a person may experience when they have been through a very distressing time.
How does trauma work?
Anyone can be affected by trauma. It is important to understand when you are affected by it, so you can get help.
Trauma happens when a person has been in a life threatening situation or a person has witnessed a life threatening situation.
Through sleep, the brain processes all the events that happened throughout the day.
When something distressing or very frightening has happened, our brains are not able to process these events in the same way. When these events are not processed, they stay in our present memory (the memory we use on a daily basis) and this can constantly remind you of the traumatic event. This is when you can’t get something out of your head.
When these reminders are severe, they are known as ‘flashbacks’.
What can trauma feel like?
Trauma can feel like a lot of things. Here are a few examples:
What events can cause trauma?
There are many examples of traumatic events, some of these are:
Sometimes trauma can be the result of difficult events in childhood. These are known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (or sometimes called ACE’s for short). Adverse means unfavourable or harmful. ACE’s can be some of these events detailed below by Younger minds (2019).
Coping with
The following strategies may help young people cope with trauma:
- Grounding
- Going out or doing things
- Getting rest
The following buttions are self-help suggestions for young people
Finding help
Who can they talk to?
- Friends
- Family
- Someone you trust at school
- Youth worker
- Health professional (GP; Counsellor Nurse)
- Charities and Helplines
Select the underlined topics below to view what resources are available.
Useful documents
Helpful websites
Getting more help
If you haven’t already found the help you’re looking for, you can find additional information and services which are more interactive here.
I would like to make a referral to Mental Health Services by completing the online referral form
Select the underlined topics below to view what resources are available.
Help lines
Local services
National support organisations
Help lines
Local services
…in and around North Staffordshire
National support organisations
