What Is Trauma? Explaining Seven Types of Trauma

Trauma

Apr 2

Trauma can mean different things to different people. Someone might experience something as a traumatic event that someone else might not. As the stigma around mental health has been decreasing, people are more regularly discussing trauma.

But what is trauma?

Generally speaking, trauma is the response to a distressing, overwhelming, and sometimes life-threatening experience. The American Psychological Association defines trauma as “the emotional response to a terrible event.” This experience often leads to feelings of helplessness, intense fear, and terror. The intense stress of the traumatic event completely overwhelms a person’s ability to cope with the situation. Living through this distressing event(s) may then lead to mental, emotional, and behavioral impacts and changes.

The experience of trauma is very common. An estimated 70% of adults will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetimes as shown in research conducted by the World Health Organization (2024). And many of these individuals will experience multiple potentially traumatic events. Some people will go on to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following a traumatic event, which includes the experience of specific symptoms and effects stemming from the experience of trauma. However, even those that do not go on to develop PTSD may still experience some effects from experiencing a traumatic event.

Types of Trauma

Because there are many different types of traumatic experiences and ways that people experience and respond to trauma, categories of trauma can help people to understand how their trauma may be impacting them. Traumatic experiences and the effects of trauma can be categorized in many ways, but here are seven common types of trauma that people experience:

Acute Trauma

Acute trauma refers to one-time traumatic events or traumatic events that take place within a short period of time. This may include events such as a car accident, a natural disaster, an assault, or the sudden death of a loved one.

Chronic Trauma

Traumatic experiences that occur repeatedly or are prolonged over an extended period of time is categorized as chronic trauma. Examples of chronic trauma can include ongoing domestic violence, long-term childhood abuse, military combat, and repeated sexual abuse.

Complex Trauma

Complex trauma refers to traumatic events that occur repeatedly across an extended period of time and often begin in early childhood. Complex trauma is a type of chronic trauma that involves invasive traumatic experiences often perpetrated within what should have been a trusting and caring relationship (such as with caregivers). Since it occurs early in life, complex trauma can disrupt a child’s development of a sense of self and secure attachment. Additionally, sometimes complex trauma can be impacted by similar traumatic experiences throughout a person’s life. For example, a person who experiences chronic trauma through long-term abuse in their childhood then experiences a similarly abusive romantic relationship within their adulthood. These experiences can then feed off each other to lead to complex trauma.

Generational Trauma

Generational trauma, sometimes referred to as intergenerational trauma or historical trauma, refers to trauma that is passed down through generations. Research, conducted by Rakoff and colleagues in the 1960s, found that children of survivors of the Holocaust experienced similar reactions to trauma as their parents even though they had not experienced the Holocaust themselves. Trauma that a caregiver has experienced can then be transferred to their children through their parenting styles, children witnessing and experiencing the caregivers emotional and mental reactions to trauma, and even through genetic markers. Generational trauma can also be seen through “cycles of abuse” where someone who has unresolved trauma may then unconsciously act on that experience of trauma which is then learned and repeated by their children.

Collective Trauma

Collective trauma is experienced when a whole culture, community, or group experiences a shared traumatic event. Recently, COVID-19 was a worldwide traumatic experience that we have experienced collectively as a culture. Other examples of collective trauma include the ongoing genocide in Palestine, experiences of oppression and identity-based violence, experiences of community-violence, and living in a war-zone or occupied territory.

Racial Trauma

One specific experience of collective trauma is racial trauma, also referred to as race-based traumatic stress as coined by Robert Carter in 2007. Racial trauma refers to the psychological impact of the experience of racism, discrimination, systemic oppression, and stereotypes. This impact can be caused by the cumulative experience of ongoing racism and racial discrimination that builds up over time, or from a specific-incidence of race-based discrimination. Additionally, people can experience racial trauma from witnessing others experiencing discrimination and mistreatment because of their race. For example, witnessing the police brutality and killing of Black Americans can contribute to racial trauma for Black Americans.

Vicarious Trauma

Vicarious trauma, also known as secondary trauma, is experienced by people who have ongoing exposure and experience with people experiencing trauma. Consistently engaging with, witnessing, and learning about the traumatic experiences of others can lead to this experience of vicarious trauma. Healthcare workers, social workers, therapists, first responders, and others who consistently work with people experiencing trauma may experience their own traumatic response to experiencing the trauma of others.

Trauma Treatment in Lexington, Kentucky

If you are reading the above descriptions of trauma and realizing you may be impacted by trauma, trauma therapy can be a great option for support. Therapy can help you to know what trauma is and how it is impacting you, gain resources and skills to cope with current difficulties, and reprocess past experiences to work towards integrating them into your life story so that your past trauma experiences no longer define or control your life. If you would like to work with me to better understand your experiences with trauma and work towards creating a new future, reach out to me at carolyn@carolynmeillerphd.com or request an appointment here.