Reunion Issue No. 01 Page 11

INTROdUCTION

THE LAST THIRTY YEARS HAvE SEEN A

significant increase in research in the field of
trauma exposure. Early interest in the area focused
primarily on the effects of combat violence, with
many writings devoted to the sources and impact
of posttraumatic stress disorder, even before it
had a name. Since then, however, subsequent
studies have explored the impact other types of
trauma and prolonged exposure to even moderate
amounts of stress can have on a person's nervous

system. The picture that emerged from decades
of research offers a broader understanding not
only of the sources and effects of trauma, but also
the paths to recovery.

dEFINING TRAUMA

Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical
bodily injury, wound, or shock. While this is the
territory of emergency room medicine, in psychia-
try, "trauma" has assumed a different meaning. It
refers to an experience that is emotionally painful,

distressful or shocking, often resulting in lasting
mental and physical effects.

When it comes to the physical after-effects of

a bodily injury, wound, or shock, the connections
are easy to grasp. Such events might result in
chronic pain, loss of mobility or bodily function, or
even leave physical scars.

Yet the ways in which the body is affected

by emotional or mental trauma are less easy to
detect. Experts such as Peter Levine, author of
Healing Trauma and a pioneering researcher in the
field, have spent considerable time identifying and
defining these effects. Levine defines trauma not

only as the traumatic experience
itself, but as "the often debilitating
symptoms that many people suf-
fer in the aftermath of perceived
life-threatening or overwhelming
experiences." He suggests that
trauma is the greatest source of

unacknowledged human suffering.

Levine also points out that trauma does

not always result from one catastrophic event.
The image of the "shell-shocked soldier," some-
one who suffers repeated barrages of violent,
life-threatening events, is not inaccurate, but
limited. Trauma can actually result from a series
of less severe events that occur over a long
period of time.

Other experts in the field provide complemen-

tary definitions of trauma. Babette Rothschild,
a Los Angeles-based clinical social worker de-
scribes it as "a psychophysical experience, even
when the [event] causes no direct bodily harm."

And the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) offers confirmation of
the conclusion of a majority of psychiatric profes-
sionals that "traumatic events exact a toll on the
body as well as the mind."

THE IMpACT OF TRAUMA

When a physical danger threatens us that we
can't stop, control or escape, our natural instinct
for survival--which includes the body summon-
ing a tremendous amount of energy to fight or
flee--short circuits. These short circuits ricochets
through our bodies as well as our minds. This
can result in shock, dissociation, and many other
kinds of involuntary responses while the violence
is happening.

The short circuit stays with us long after the

violence ends. The short term effects can include

Trauma's ImpacT on The Body

A Review of Literature from the Evolving Field of Trauma and the Mind-Body Connection

TRaUma aND THE BODy /

[Trauma] is the greatest

source of unacknowledged

human suffering.

By Nathan Richards

REUNION