What is trauma?

The original meaning of the Greek word trauma is wound, or damage to body tissue. Today we use the term "psychological trauma" to describe a condition in which a person has experienced a difficult event that has wounded his psyche. Recently, there has been growing awareness of the fact that people who are exposed to events such as terrorist attacks are not only physically injured, but mentally hurt as well. These are the shock victims of whom we often hear of after terrorist attacks. Other examples of traumatic events that may cause psychological trauma as well are injuries caused by car accidents, sexual assault or serious disease.

There are two factors which make an event traumatic:

• Threat of death or serious injury to us or to another person.
• Strong feeling of fear and helplessness.

The traumatic event is usually unpredictable and uncontrollable. It shatters our sense of security and leaves us vulnerable and agitated. The event does not have to be one in which a person is directly involved in; sometimes the news of the death of someone close to us, or watching a terrorist attack on TV can be traumatic.

Most of those exposed to a traumatic event recover after a few months, without needing professional help. The mind, like the body, knows how to recover from injuries and how to overcome them. The minority of those injured by psychological trauma needs professional help. Fortunately, there are short-term effective psychological treatments available. These therapies aim to help the psyche regain its natural curative powers.

Israel and Trauma