Trauma is the body's response to highly disturbing events, that overwhelm your ability to cope have a lasting emotional and or psychological impact on the person who experienced the event. Circumstances surrounding trauma often include loss of control, betrayal, abuse of power, helplessness, confusion, and / or loss.
If the trauma is associated with one event, it is referred to as a big "T" trauma. But trauma may also be many small events that do not make enough sense to process properly, causing confusion and distress. These are referred to as small "t" traumas.
Emotional signs of trauma are sadness, anger, denial, fear, and shame can lead to poor sleep, difficulty with relationships, emotional outbursts, or nightmares. Often times these lead to physical symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, altered sleep patterns, changes in appetite, or gastrointestinal problems. When severe enough, these can manifest as depression, substance abuse, PTSD, and anxiety.