Processing a Trauma – Effect of Trauma in the Long-term
The psychological trauma causes a breach in the victim’s life. The process of traumatisation cannot be reversed. The individual psychological condition prior to the traumatic event can never be regained. I assume that traumas leave tracks than cannot be eliminated and therefore force that person to learn to live with the effects.
The scope of a trauma depends not only on how severe the event was – which in the case of concentration camp experience is extreme – but depends also on the constitutional condition of any previous trauma and on the afflicted person’s development phase.1See Horie 1997, p. 83 f.
Recovery from a trauma, which according to me can never be completely achieved, is particularly dependent on the reaction of the social surroundings. Concentration camp survivors tell us that empathy for their traumatic experiences is supportive of their ability to cope with life. Dismissive and hostile social behaviour on the other hand was just rubbing salt into the victim’s wound and heightened their mistrust of reality.2See Horie 1997, p. 55. After liberation from the concentration camp, especially those persecuted under the Nazi regime who were refused acknowledgement as victims of harsh state violence, again suffered from socially isolating experiences. This is therefore a double trauma, further complicating integration after an ordeal, possibly even rendering integration impossible. The more difficulty experienced in coping with post trauma events, the more often psychological disorders3Psychological disorders do not mean pathologies in the medical sense of the polarity of health and illness. This concept should only describe changes in the various human systems that would not show these reactions without traumatic experiences of the individual. are observed in those affected.
The long-term effects of traumas affect cognition, feeling and behaviour as well as various physical functions. Michiaki Horie, the Canadian psychiatrist and psychotherapist, has been working on posttraumatic disorders in the above-mentioned areas. According to him, psychological traumas affect cognition. An inability to remember the trauma, being unable to identify it, must be given specific mention here. Moreover, Horie describes the more frequent occurrence of so-called obsessive thinking. Thereby specific ideas connected with the traumatic event pervade awareness and cannot be dislodged. These obsessive thoughts lead to fixation of the traumatic experience that is always on the victim’s mind. Obsessive thoughts can also be expressed in perfectionism. Confidence in the present world order is shaken and due to this, those afflicted will try to achieve stability by totally focusing on methodical conduct.4Horie 1997, p. 64 f. Endeavouring to achieve perfection is an attempt to forge a psychological structure.
Another effect of trauma is the emotional regulation disorder, manifested by extreme nervousness of those affected. Other symptoms of this dysregulation are chronic fears, inner tension, and panic attacks.5Horie 1997, p. 66. This is caused by increased levels of aggression, channelled sometimes into uncontrolled screaming. If the aggression cannot be deflated, it will turn into depression.
When trust in the social world is shaken, the trauma will change the self-awareness and the view you have of yourself. This shaken view of social order causes an often-perceived inability to trust and adapt to new situations. Distrust distorts your self-concept and how you view others. This influences the mother-child relationship – supposing the traumatised survivor can start a family.
Symptoms of trauma through concentration camp incarceration are deeply rooted feelings of guilt, where the cause is unidentified, or a feeling of guilt at having survived.
Cognitive impairments in the emotional regulation system will inevitably lead to changes in behaviour and body functions. Substance abuse in traumatised people is to be interpreted as an attempt to influence the emotional instability. Sedatives are usually used for this purpose.6Horie 1997, p. 73
Trauma induced somatogenic dysfunctions are noticeable in conversion reactions of various body parts. The psychosomatic complaints are often problems with the digestive tract and in the form of therapy-resistant back pains and headaches.7Horie 1997, p. 71. By choosing a body part, the trauma finds a specific physical outlet, because identification of the trauma event is impossible.
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