Introduction
Overcoming trauma is often a hard step due to the emotional damage caused by specific events that generally affect a person’s well-being. Trauma can be caused by physical, life-threatening, or emotional harm. Traumatized individuals often undergo a wide range of emotions and are often misjudged by society due to a lack of understanding of the traumatic patterns. Therefore, there needs to be a clear understanding of the trauma patterns, how it affects the individuals and the course of overcoming trauma to create a habitable society. The discussion below aims to give a systematic breakdown of overcoming trauma and highlights how trauma changes a person’s life quality.
Topic choice
I chose this topic because traumatic events often cause negative characteristics that affect an individual’s thinking and behavior, even in social setups. Trauma affects a person’s credibility at work and school, and some people resort to violence which affects society. Consequently, trauma cases have escalated on a global scale due to systemic changes and an increase in exposure to violent environments (Cafasso). The rise in trauma has caused significant distress, making it a huge concern on a global scale, thus warranting this discussion. Besides, a vast population has little knowledge of trauma and how to respond to traumatic experiences. Therefore, championing this discussion increases awareness and increases research on trauma, which helps reduce trauma cases.
Topic Relevance
The topic of overcoming trauma and changes in life quality connects to the source “silent inflictions” as they both address how these conditions manifest and affect an individual. Besides, my source exhibits all characteristics attributed to trauma patients as the features are non-physical yet have fatal implications on the victim (Treatment US). For instance, trauma cases always have hidden characteristics that can manifest as anger and fear. These characteristics can often be overlooked and misinterpreted as extreme human behavior, yet in many cases, these are trauma responses which can also be referred to as silent inflictions. The sentence “not all afflictions are visible” closely relates to the nature in which trauma responses manifest as non-physical; thus, the effects remain invisible. Besides, the source further states that “not all trauma can be expressed”. This shows how hard sharing and explaining a person’s reaction when going through a traumatic episode can be so hard. Trauma victims are often subjected to misunderstanding from people with a limited understanding of the nature of trauma and how it manifests in a victim.
Besides, the sentence “ghosts resurface, with the subtlest of hints” shows how much trauma victims are triggered by the slightest exposure to events leading to their traumas (Par. 2). The triggers may be in terms of words or actions which remind the victims of the encounters that altered their lives. The victims may act out of anger or fear, which manifests as a fight or flight response that potentially causes social discomfort. The sentence “we are freshly decorated boats” shows the pure nature in which every human is born before experiencing traumatic events (Par. 3). However, due to the twists in the course of life, a person is likely to experience trauma despite the innocence and maturity (Par. 4).
The author shares the traumatic encounters inflicted by the father on the author’s mother and siblings (Par. 10). The encounters forced the author to seek asylum in places far from the violence surrounding their family. However, the author sought redemption on their own when the mother remained rooted in the violence despite it causing harm to her. Besides, the author’s siblings also remained subject to the abuse caused by the father and did not seek safer places for their well-being. The author questions whether the siblings were caught up with the reality; that they could not change their experiences (Par. 10). However, the author, well aware of what was at stake, sought peace and escaped the violence which could affect the author physically and emotionally (Par. 7).
The author reveals that they adopted a coping mechanism as a cushion from the traumatic experiences (Par. 12). Moreover, the source states that “the past is buried- still breathing”, which shows how people who encountered traumatic experiences live with trauma (Par. 1). Therefore, there needs to be an understanding of these traumas to help victims live freely. This would help address issues on trauma and minimize future occurrences. Most issues on trauma manifest from past experiences that might have been forgotten.
My topic represents a need to address the societal menace of trauma and its effects on society at large. Trauma has explicitly caused a considerable impact on a significant human population. Since its effects cannot be physically diagnosed, it has created a considerable gap in understanding how to address this concern. Besides, trauma patients hardly understand traumatic responses and might act out of rationale and negatively affect other people. Therefore, it is essential to understand trauma and its effects on society to avoid the alienation and stigmatization of trauma victims and understand their traumatic patterns. This would significantly boost inclusion and promote humanity rather than division that originates from misunderstanding situations.
Works Cited
Cafasso, Jacquelyn. “Traumatic Events.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 4 Sept. 2012, www.healthline.com/health/traumatic-events. 1-5
Treatment (US), Center for Substance Abuse. Understanding the Impact of Trauma. Www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US), 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/#:~:text=Initial%20reactions%20to%20trauma%20can. 1-14
