Exposure to a single traumatic event, and certainly repeated exposure to trauma, can create serious mental health challenges. Trauma-specialized care is linked to improved mental health and quality of life.
Key points
- Trauma and PTSD tend to respond well to treatment.
- PTSD describes a long-term condition characterized by significant distress.
- Untreated trauma can have long-term effects on your mental and physical health.
- Trauma-informed CBT for children and teens, other approaches for adults.
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Overview
Trauma can develop when you go through an experience that feels too much to handle and you do not have the support or tools you need to cope at the time. Trauma may come from a single frightening event, such as an assault, a car accident, or a natural disaster. It can also build over time through repeated experiences that may seem “small” from the outside, like ongoing verbal mistreatment from caregivers in childhood.
People respond to painful experiences in different ways. An event that one person can shake off may leave someone else feeling impacted for years. Instead of judging whether something was “traumatic enough,” it is often more helpful to focus on how it affected you and how it continues to influence your thoughts, emotions, and relationships today.
Trauma can contribute to many challenges, though these symptoms can also have other causes. Common examples include depression and anxiety, rumination and compulsive overthinking, difficulty making decisions, sleep disruption, low energy, low motivation, irritability, trouble maintaining healthy relationships or steady employment, or a persistent sense that you are struggling without knowing why.
Trauma and PTSD
Symptoms
Diminished ability to function in everyday life
Trauma can interfere with your ability to learn, focus, and process information because your nervous system shifts into survival mode when safety feels threatened. In the moment, this is protective. It helps you react quickly and get through what is happening. The challenge is that after you are no longer in danger, your mind and body may still respond as if the threat is present. This can make it difficult to feel steady and to function the way you want to in daily life.
Mental health challenges
Trauma is strongly connected with mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, phobias, and ADHD. It can also affect executive functioning skills like prioritizing, time management, following routines, and maintaining consistency at work, school, or home.
Trauma encourages unhealthy behaviors
Clinical research and longstanding therapeutic frameworks show a clear link between trauma and the development of dysregulated or hard-to-control behaviors.
One common pattern is sometimes called “dysfunctional avoidance,” which refers to efforts to escape painful thoughts, feelings, or body sensations tied to interpersonal trauma. Over time, this avoidance can increase the risk of substance misuse and other harmful coping behaviors, including self-injury, suicidal thoughts, and risky sexual behavior. It can also make self-regulation feel harder, especially under stress.
If you feel stuck in compulsive patterns related to food, sex, substances, or technology, unresolved trauma may be part of what is driving the cycle. As trauma is treated, many people find that urges lose intensity, which can make meaningful change feel more achievable.
Physical health ramifications of trauma
Trauma can affect physical health as well as emotional well-being. Interpersonal trauma exposure is associated with poorer long-term health outcomes.
Children who are exposed to trauma have increased risk for serious health concerns later in life, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, stroke, and substance use disorders, alongside mental health challenges.
Causes and risk factors
The likelihood of developing PTSD or other long-term trauma responses may be influenced by:
Genetic and environmental factors
Repeated exposure to traumatic events
Feeling powerless or trapped during the traumatic experience
Treatment for trauma
There are effective treatments for trauma for both adults and children. Trauma-informed therapy can be an important part of recovery, helping you process what happened while building skills to feel safer, steadier, and more in control.
Your therapist may recommend approaches such as:
- Trauma-informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps young people develop healthier ways of thinking and responding to stress. CBT is well-researched and can reduce anxiety, fear-based reactions, and trauma-related symptoms.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) supports adults and teens in identifying unhelpful thought patterns and changing behaviors that keep anxiety and fear going.
- Exposure therapy is a CBT-based method often used to treat anxiety. It helps people gradually face avoided situations in a supported way, sometimes alongside relaxation and coping strategies.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) uses mindfulness, values-based goals, and practical tools to help you relate differently to distressing thoughts and feelings.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teaches skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and healthier relationship patterns.
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based approach that can help the brain process traumatic memories so they feel less intense and less disruptive.
- Mindfulness and other supportive approaches can also strengthen nervous system regulation and help you stay grounded in the present.
Learn more about individual therapy
Trauma often impacts more than mood. It can shape how you see yourself, how safe you feel in the world, and how you show up in relationships. Individual therapy can provide a dedicated space to understand your patterns, build coping tools, and work toward lasting healing at a pace that feels manageable.
Reach out today
If you are dealing with trauma or PTSD, therapy can be a meaningful first step toward healing. Whether your experience comes from a single event or ongoing adversity, trauma can affect both emotional and physical well-being. At Turning Point, we offer trauma-informed therapy using proven approaches such as EMDR, CBT, and ACT to help you process what happened and move forward with greater stability and peace. Reach out today to schedule your complimentary consultation and begin your path toward recovery.
Related information
Briere, J., Hodges, M., & Godbout, N. (2010). Traumatic stress, affect dysregulation, and dysfunctional avoidance: a structural equation model. Journal of traumatic stress, 23 6, 767-74
Dimopoulou, I., Anthi, A., Mastora, Z., Theodorakopoulou, M., Konstandinidis, A., Evangelou, E., Mandragos, K.E., & Roussos, C. (2004). Health-Related Quality of Life and Disability in Survivors of Multiple Trauma One Year After Intensive Care Unit Discharge. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 83, 171-176.
López-Martínez, A., Serrano-Ibáñez, E.R., Ruíz-Párraga, G.T., Gómez-Pérez, L., Ramírez‐Maestre, C., & Esteve, R. (2018). Physical Health Consequences of Interpersonal Trauma: A Systematic Review of the Role of Psychological Variables. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 19, 305 – 322.
Sanderud, K., Murphy, S., & Elklit, A. (2016). Child maltreatment and ADHD symptoms in a sample of young adults. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 7.
Schnurr, P.P., & Green, B.L. (2004). Understanding relationships among trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and health outcomes. Advances in mind-body medicine, 20 1, 18-29
