Some wounds heal in plain sight. But no one can see the scars from years of abuse, bullying, abandonment, wars, car bombs, and explosions.
Trauma is a situation we all know too well. Yet, it is a complex and evolving concept. In the realm of American psychiatric diagnosis, it's presently defined by the DSM-5 as an experience involving "actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence," whether as a victim or witness. The term 'trauma' is multifaceted. It can denote a physical injury, an experience, or an emotional response to a harrowing event. Its origins trace back to the Greek word "wound," a term still used in the context of physical injury in medical settings. The notion of trauma as psychological damage only surfaced in the late 1880s. In 1889, French psychologist Pierre Janet published "L’automatisme psychologique," marking the first scientific account of traumatic stress. This work would later be mentioned in Sigmund Freud's 1893 paper on hysteria, laying the foundation for the study of trauma. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was officially recognized in veterans and disaster responders, including those who encountered the tragic Jonestown Massacre in 1978. It was added to the DSM-III in 1980. Over the subsequent 14 years, revisions to the DSM shifted the focus from the objective severity of an event to the patient's level of distress. The disorder's definition also expanded to include not only those who experienced trauma but also those who witnessed it or heard about it. By the 1990s, terms such as "cultural trauma," "collective trauma," "historical trauma," and "intergenerational trauma" began to emerge, often in the context of atrocities like genocide, enslavement, and war. Trauma wields a profound influence over our lives. Beyond its immediate physical and emotional impacts, it can fundamentally shape our self-perception and worldview. But here's a crucial truth: Trauma does not define you. You are not your trauma. Broken things do not need to remain broken. Our brain is wired for change; that change does not have to be negative. So we can create positive change despite terrible events like explosions, collapsing economies, and pandemics. It is called post-traumatic growth. Brokenness can be a starting point of beauty. The experiences that hurt and caused you pain don’t have the power to define you. They may have altered you, transformed you, but they don't hold the ability to label your beautiful, brilliant soul, which harbors a universe as vast as the starry expanse in the night sky. What defines you is your resilience and capacity to endure even the most excruciating experiences and emerge stronger. You possess the courage many only dream of—a determination to grow wings when life attempts to take yours away. You are made of remarkable, extraordinary, and unimaginable qualities, and your trauma cannot deceive you into believing it's the only aspect of your identity that matters. The person you were before the storms of life arrived may be gone, but remnants of them remain. Your past and wounds have sculpted a new you—a more resilient, courageous, and improved version. You are whole, a stronger and braver version of yourself in every conceivable way. Perhaps, deep down, we're not as fragile as we think. As we change, we learn. In moments of adversity, we find growth opportunities. When we set out to heal our own lives, we discover newfound resilience, equipping us to mend our personal challenges and the world's. With this journey, we grow wise and whole. We become stronger not only for ourselves but for those around us. We strip away the layers of pretense, creating connections that are more authentic than ever before. We mend the brokenness with compassion and extend kindness to others and ourselves. We can turn our brokenness into beauty and growth. We are not our traumas.
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AuthorI was born in 1986 in Lebanon. I'm still trying to find my passion in life and in the meantime I'm learning to navigate my bipolarity and redefining stability. Archives
February 2024
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