Psychological trauma

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Psychological trauma is the result of an event or situation in which:Ferreira Novo, R. (n.d.) ‘A relational perspective on psychological trauma: the ghost of the unspent love’, in [book title]. IntechOpen. Available at: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/67251 (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

  • Our ability to process our experience is overwhelmed
  • We experience what’s happening as a threat to our bodily integrity, sanity, or life

So, we can say that a traumatic event or situation has resulted in psychological trauma when it:

  • Overwhelms our ability to cope emotionally, cognitively, or physically
  • Leaves us fearing injury, mental breakdown, or death

Examples of traumatic experiences

Trauma is a subjective experience, and the same event may traumatise one person but not another.

A traumatic event can be a one-off, or a chronic/repeated experience.Acute and Chronic Mental Health Trauma (2023) StatPearls. NCBI Bookshelf. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594231/ (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

One-off incidents

These can include:

  • Having an accident
  • Being the victim of a crime
  • Undergoing surgery
  • Suffering the loss or death of someone close
  • Living through a natural disaster

Chronic or repeated experiences

As well as multiple instances of the above, these can include:

  • Being bullied or stalked
  • Suffering neglect or abuse
  • Being the victim of domestic violence
  • Being homeless
  • Being in prison or a concentration camp

Recent studies have shown that chronic experiences play the greater role in psychological trauma. For instance, long-term abuse in childhood is a major factor in mental health issues later in life.Jin, Y., Xu, S., Shao, Z., Luo, X., Wilson, A., Li, J. and Wang, Y. (2024) ‘The lasting effects of childhood trauma on developing psychiatric symptoms: a population-based, large-scale comparison study’, Global Mental Health. Schuyler, A.C. and Catania, J.A. (2022) ‘Trauma chronicity and the long-term needs of childhood sexual trauma survivors’, Sexes, 3(3), pp. 367–384.

Possible effects of trauma on mental health

We deal with events using our adaptive information-processing system, which is part of our nervous system.

This usually protects us from trauma, by discarding all the emotions, physical states, and thoughts that aren’t useful to us once an event is over.

But we may not be able to process that event properly if:

  • It happens when we’re especially vulnerable (e.g. in childhood)
  • It’s particularly overwhelming (e.g. abuse from a loved one)
  • It happens repeatedly over time

Any event can be traumatic if it exceeds our coping mechanisms. It can then contribute to mental health issues, such as:

Traumatic experiences can lead to a range of sleep issues:Newsom, R. (2025) Trauma and Sleep. Sleep Foundation. Available at: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health/trauma-and-sleep (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

  • Flashbacks, restlessness, and anxiety, especially in the dark or at night, can make it hard to fall asleep
  • Nightmares and night terrors can frighten us awake, and the resulting adrenaline can stop us getting back to sleep
  • Trauma survivors often use alcohol or other drugs, to numb the emotional and physical pain; these substances can be dangerously addictive in themselves (see below), and can also disrupt our sleep patterns

Read more about sleep issues.

Addiction and trauma are closely linked.

As Maia Szalavitz writes: ‘At least two thirds of addicted people have suffered at least one extremely traumatic experience during childhood, and the higher exposure to trauma, the greater the addiction risk.’Szalavitz, M. (2016) Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

There are a range of substances to which trauma victims can become addicted. For instance, we may use:National Institute on Drug Abuse (2024) Trauma and Stress. Available at: https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trauma-and-stress (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

  • Benzodiazepines, to seek relief from anxiety
  • Stimulants, to gain the energy we feel like we’ve lost
  • Alcohol, to make us feel at ease in social settings
  • Marijuana, to make us feel relaxed or numbed

Read more about addiction.

Many traumatic experiences, such as abuse, bereavement, or living through an accident or natural disaster, can make us feel like we’ve lost control or lack agency.

Research has shown how stressful this can be:Scottish Government (2025) The Scottish Health Survey 2024 – Volume 1: Main Report. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-health-survey-2024-volume-1-main-report/(Accessed: 28 July 2026). Penninx, B.W.J.H., van Tilburg, T., Kriegsman, D.M.W., Deeg, D.J.H., Boeke, A.J.P. and van Eijk, J.T.M. (1997) ‘Effects of social support and personal coping resources on mortality in older age: the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam’, American Journal of Epidemiology, 146(6), pp. 510–519.

  • In one Scottish national survey:
    • Among people reporting ‘complete control’ over their lives, 14% had mental health issues
    • Among those reporting ‘little control’, the figure was 56%
  • In a Dutch study of older adults, those reporting the highest levels of personal ‘mastery’ (feelings of control over their lives) had a 60% smaller risk of death than those who said they felt helpless

Psychological trauma can often lead to issues with anxiety and panic.

If a sight, smell, or sound reminds us of a previous traumatic experience, the memory can be misinterpreted by the brain, triggering a ‘fight or flight’ response. This can contribute to anxiety or panic attacks.ASSIST Trauma Care (2015) Anxiety & Panic Attacks. Available at: http://assisttraumacare.org.uk/how-assist-can-help-you/flashbacks-panic-attacks/ (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

One mental health issue caused only by psychological trauma is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For someone to be diagnosed with PTSD, they need to have suffered a traumatic event.U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD (2023) PTSD and DSM-5. Available at: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/dsm5_ptsd.asp (Accessed: 28 July 2026).

Read more about anxiety.

Depression is a frequent result of psychological trauma.

In part, this is because depression is closely linked to both addiction to alcohol/drugs, and post-traumatic stress disorder (see above).

The symptoms of these different conditions overlap, so if we have an issue with addiction or PTSD, we are more likely to show symptoms of depression.Bilevicius, E., Single, A., Bristow, L.A., et al. (2025) ‘Posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder screening, assessment, and treatment’, Current Psychiatry Reports.

Read more about depression.