What is trauma?

Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, causing a lasting negative impact on their mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Any experience that significantly disrupts an individual’s sense of safety and well-being is considered trauma.

Trauma is an experience that fundamentally changes the brain and body, affecting how individuals process and respond to stress. It disrupts the brain’s information processing system. It is subjective, and what is traumatic for one person may not be traumatic for another.

Many of us in the trauma treatment community believe in a spectrum of traumatic experiences and categorize them often as either “Big T” or “small t” traumas:

“Big T” trauma refers to major, life-threatening events such as natural disasters, severe accidents, sexual assault, or combat. These events are usually recognized by society due to their obvious severity and impact.

“small t” traumas are less dramatic but can be equally damaging over time. These may include chronic/ongoing stress, emotional manipulation, bullying, relational issues, repeated failures, or even being raised in an environment where you are made to consistently feel like you are not good enough, are unloved, or even disregarded entirely. “small t” traumas are often more subtle and pervasive, often accumulating over time. Another term that is used alternatively to describe “small t” trauma is “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACEs).