PSYCHOLOGY
Examples of Emotional Trauma in Relationships
Emotional trauma, also referred to as psychological trauma, is an experience that makes a person feel unsafe and helpless. It can be physical, such as experiencing an accident, or emotional, such as the loss of a loved one.
In the context of relationships, emotional trauma can negatively impact your spouse and cause them to respond in certain ways as a defense or coping mechanism.
That’s why identifying the possible sources of emotional trauma in your potential partner is important in ensuring a healthy relationship. Being aware of your partner’s behavior allows you to come up with solutions together before things get out of hand.
To better understand emotional trauma, let’s delve deeper into its major types and their examples.
Acute trauma
Trauma is categorized as Acute if it refers to a single, isolated traumatic experience. This kind of trauma has a profound impact on a person, which can range from feeling shocked, intense grief, anger, or confusion.
People who experience Acute trauma often suffer from anxiety, insomnia, loss of focus, and other personality changes. These are adaptive responses, as one’s mind does its best to protect the person from further harm.
In relationships, a partner who is often withdrawn and hesitant to open up to their partner is showing signs they’ve experienced Acute trauma at one point in their life.
Examples of Acute trauma include:
- A major accident
- A life-threatening injury
- The loss of a loved one
- A natural disaster
Chronic trauma
Trauma that happens over and over again is referred to as Chronic trauma. Being repeatedly cheated on in a committed relationship is one example of this, which can lead to ongoing problems with trusting other individuals.
It’s possible that your prospective partner has frequent doubts about you. You just need to reassure them of your good intentions when they start to question you since they are learning to trust you. Gaining their trust is the first step you should take before you can progressively teach them to feel confident around other people.
Unaddressed Chronic trauma in romantic relationships can develop into relationship PTSD.
Other examples of Chronic trauma:
- Bullying
- Domestic abuse
- A chronic illness
- Abusive relationships
Complex trauma
This merely indicates that the horrific occurrence that other people went through may have influenced your future partner’s perception of relationships, particularly after being exposed to those occurrences.
You will notice that your potential companion is especially needy and protective of you if they have experienced this kind of trauma. They will wish to protect you or your connection with them. Recognize that they may act very expressively in an attempt to maintain your focus on them. All you need to do is show your partner that you value and care for them.
Other examples of Complex trauma:
- Family disputes
- Childhood neglect
- Civil unrest
- Domestic violence
It is truly crucial to recognize the signs of emotional trauma from your partner as it will help you better handle them. Being aware of such trauma also allows you to react accordingly and not worsen your partner’s suffering. Emotional trauma can be cured over time. You just have to be patient in dealing with a partner who has emotional trauma.
References:
The Jed Foundation. n.d. “What is Trauma?” Jed: 25 Years.
https://jedfoundation.org/resource/understanding-emotional-trauma/#:~:text=Unlike%20day%2Dto%2Dday%20stresses,loss%20of%20a%20loved%20one.
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