What is it?
- Information about trauma and it’s impact
- How to cope with trauma memories, disassociation & difficult emotions
- Podcasts, articles and mindfulness exercises
- Information about other helpful support services
Here's more detail
Description
A trauma occurs when our usual way of coping and managing our day to day experiences is overwhelmed. Trauma may come in many different forms. It may be a single episode of trauma such as an assault, a road traffic accident, a natural disaster or the loss of a loved one by murder or suicide.
The effects of trauma can be profound, manifesting as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and can disrupt daily functioning and relationships. Traumatic experiences can alter our sense of safety and self-worth, leading to difficulties in trusting others and managing emotions.
The resources below are designed to support you in managing difficult emotions, trauma memories and other emotional and practical issues that may arise as a result of your experience of traumatic experiences.
Watch the video below to learn more about trauma and its impact.
Learning about trauma
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It is characterised by symptoms like flashbacks, severe anxiety, and nightmares, while Complex PTSD results from prolonged or repeated trauma, leading to more pervasive issues such as difficulties with emotional regulation, self-perception, and relationships.
You might find these resources helpful:
- PTSD UK: PTSD UK is a charity that aims to raise awareness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD).
- The School of Life: 12 signs you might be suffering from C-PTSD - Video
- Podcasts and articles about trauma
- The mind-body connection
The mind-body connection in relation to trauma refers to how emotional and psychological stress can directly impact physical health, leading to symptoms like chronic pain or fatigue. When someone experiences trauma, their body’s stress response can become overactive, causing ongoing physical and emotional effects that reinforce each other and complicate healing.
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a mental health condition where a person has two or more distinct personality states or identities, each with its own way of thinking and behaving. This usually develops as a response to severe trauma or abuse, helping the person cope by splitting their identity into separate parts. The resources below can help you learn more about Dissociative Identity Disorder:
Coping with trauma symptoms
Coping with trauma symptoms often involves seeking professional support, such as therapy, which can help you process your experiences and develop healthy coping strategies. Additionally, self-care practices like mindfulness, exercise, and building a strong support network can play a crucial role in managing symptoms and promoting overall well-being.
- Resources to help
These resources may be helpful in supporting you manage difficult trauma memories, dissociation and experiencing difficult emotions:
- Jane O’Rourke: Breathing Work
- The Survivors Trust: Dissociation: A page that looks at different types of dissociation, why dissociation occurs, what the symptoms are and how other survivors have helped to cope with experiencing dissociation.
- Compassionate Mind: Compassion has been linked to the alleviation of suffering. These resources aim to inspire and empower your compassionate mind.
- The Mighty: 8 Tips Complex Trauma Survivors Need to Know About Living With Chronic Suicidality
- The BMJ: Effect of exercise for depression: A journal article exploring the effect of exercise for depression.
- Traumascapes | Addressing trauma through art and science
- Studio Upstairs: provide art studios and positive, life-changing interventions for people with mental or emotional difficulties.
- Cope with difficult feelings right now
The effects of trauma can last a long time. They might go away and come back. Or they can show up for the first time, long after the trauma has happened. We might experience overwhelming, distressing feelings related to the trauma at random times. This can happen even if we’re feeling happy and well overall.
The resources below are designed to support you in the moment, helping you to ground yourself in the present and feel more calm.
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If you are in crisis
Crisis Support
Experiencing trauma can have a significant impact on your mental health. If feel like you are in crisis or in need of urgent help, call 999 or call the mental health crisis line on 0800 151 0023 (open 24/7).
Visit the Crisis Support page for more information on urgent help available.
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Survivors voices
Survivor’s Voices
These resources shine a light on survivor’s stories as they share insight into their experiences and healing journeys.
- Survivors Voices
- The Survivors Trust
- Trauma Queen podcast
- Challenging Silences: Breaking Silences: Survivors, researchers and practitioners speak about Child Sexual Abuse
- The Flying Child – in person peer support groups and online creative writing
- Slice/Silence is a survivor-led space that offers a non-violent, non-pathologising alternative to psychiatric services. Watch the video below that tells the story of the beginnings of the project.
Resources recommended by you
This noticeboard includes resources recommended by you. If you have accessed a resource that you have found helpful and you would like to share it, get in contact with us.
In this book Dr. Perry and Oprah Winfrey emphasise how early experiences shape who we become. They advocate shifting from blaming behavior to understanding what happened to us, offering hope for repairing relationships and living better lives.
Community services that can help
We know that the amount of information out there can be overwhelming and it can be difficult to know where to go when you need support.
This page is intended to help you identify services, advice or information on a range of commonly occurring topics including:
- Ageing
- BME services
- Disabilities
- Domestic Abuse
- Housing
- Legal
- Parenting (+SEND)
- Financial support
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