A traumatic event is an experience that a person perceives to have threatened their life or safety, or of those around them, e.g., accident, assault, natural disaster. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop as a result of a traumatic event(s).
PTSD affects around 12% of Australians across their lifetime, with women almost twice the rate as men. You can read more prevalence statistics here.
A trauma response is the person’s reaction to an event where there is the exposure to an actual or perceived threat to life or safety, which has a significant impact on a person’s emotional state.
A type of trauma, termed complex trauma refers to exposure to multiple or repeated trauma events such as childhood abuse or neglect, war, civil unrest, cultural dislocation, or sexual exploitation. The impact of complex trauma is usually severe, persistent, and cumulative, and can result in poor emotional and physical health, wellbeing, relationships, and daily functioning. Signs and symptoms of complex trauma vary but may include: feeling disconnected to the self, emotional dysregulation, mood changes, depression, anxiety, memory or cognitive problems, and derealisation.