The human brain, though a mighty organ, uses shortcuts. It does so out
of necessity, and you can generally assume that at any one time, the
brain is trying to use as little energy as possible. One way it
preserves energy is by limiting its sensory input (what your senses
take in) and therefore streamlining its depiction of the world "out
there." For instance, try to remember back when you were very young,
and learning for the first time what a "carrot" was -- if you examine
it at all, you'll find it is a terribly complex process. If you had
never seen one before, your brain would first have to a) take in as
much sensory data about it as possible, and b) analyze the data and
then form a hazy conception of what a carrot is. The next time you
"experienced" a carrot, your brain would go through the same process,
but this time it could compare this experience with the last
experience. In time, if you ate enough carrots, your brain would not
have to approach the carrot as a novel and alien thing, but would
instead be able to instantly recognize the carrot as a concept. Think
about how your brain does this with the rest of the world. Our brains,
to save energy, experience the world through a highly efficient though
stunningly incomplete model. Trauma occurs when the model breaks down.
If you're experiencing psychological trauma, it is important to
understand how your brain works, because that is an avenue to treat it,
with professional help. It's easy for others to say trauma is just in
the mind, but trauma exists in the mind in full vivid detail, haunting
the victim. Trauma is caused by an experience that your brain -- for
good reason -- is not equipped to deal with. It is caused by a novel
and usually troubling situation, in many instances by an unexpected
reversal of something familiar (such as a beloved husband suddenly
abusing his wife.) Remember how the brain works. So when you experience
a situation that it has never seen before, a huge amount of neurons
fire, and they examine every sensory detail with a microscope. Now if
you've experienced something absolutely horrendous and novel, your
brain remembers every detail, and relives it over and over again,
trying to incorporate it into its larger personality.
The individual personality, however, is made up a multitude of selves.
There is no single self. Think about this for a second, consider your
friendships and relationships. You may be jocular with one friend,
humble with another, sexy with one, tender with another. There is the
self who compulsively sneaks chocolate cake at midnight, another who
reaches for a cigarette despite your desire to quit. A good deal of our
selves are more less conscious; these are the ones who can
conceptualize in language. But there are still more that are
unconscious -- who do not have language to express themselves or reason
with -- the ones who undermine us. When you experience trauma, your
brain creates a "traumatic self," and to deal with the trauma, it tries
to contain the damage in one facet of its psyche. It throws up a wall
around the "traumatic self." The problem is that this "traumatic self,"
is unconscious and irrational, and can be triggered into action through
subconscious cues such as smell, body position, gestures, dreams,
colors etc. And when it is summoned, it can relive the trauma in
perfect detail without the help of your more conscious mind to calm it.
It can also appear as a panic attack or a terrifying nightmare. It
cannot be reached or reasoned with, and it can cause the victim to
behave atypically. For the family member of the victim, it is not
enough to pat her on the shoulder and say, "it's all in your head," or
to try to talk it away. If you are a victim, it is not your fault. You
are not being difficult, or hyper-sensitive or irrational. You may also
feel numb or detached. This is normal. Your brain is doing the best it
can to cope.
But there is help and highly effective treatments. If you have just
experienced a traumatic event, the best course of action is to speak as
soon as you can with a psychologist or trauma specialist. There you
will revisit the event through language in a psychologically safe
atmosphere. In this way, your brain can incorporate those events
intellectually, and reason with them. Sometimes trauma can take years
to manifest itself. Whatever the case, the best course of action is to
seek psychological treatment, and re-live and recall the events in a
safe setting. In this way, you and your therapist will incorporate
those traumatic experiences into your conscious selves, and make the
mind whole. Many victims also turn to drugs and alcohol to dull the
effects of the trauma. In such cases, the victims will have to also
undergo treatment for their substance dependencies before real
psychological healing can occur.
Some psychologists may want to pursue hypnosis to summon repressed
memories. This course is to be avoided in favor of more successful
therapies.