Imagine the tragic turn of events and how these must have affected the lives of these people
Answers
Most people, including mental health specialists, have failed to recognize the full significance of the impact of death on life. The fear of death arises as each child becomes aware of death’s inevitability. It is too painful to face our personal mortality directly without protecting ourselves, therefore some form of defense formation against the painful realization of death and dying becomes essential. Death awareness affects our lives in ways we may not be consciously aware of; in fact, many people would tend to deny their fear and say something like, “I don’t think about death very much.” Nevertheless, the fear of death influences fundamental aspects of their lives and motivates many of their actions.
Early in childhood, even before we are conscious of death, we develop defensive strategies to cope with emotional frustration and primitive separation anxiety. When faced with death awareness, these same defenses are intensified. As we continue to use these defenses in an attempt to avoid emotional pain and block out negative experiences, we inadvertently shut out feelings of exuberance, happiness and fulfillment as well. Although defenses do help to avert anxiety states, they are costly in that they tend to distort our experience, damage our adjustment, and deaden our emotional investment in life.
Explanation:
Trauma-informed care (TIC) involves a broad understanding of traumatic stress reactions and common responses to trauma. Providers need to understand how trauma can affect treatment presentation, engagement, and the outcome of behavioral health services. This chapter examines common experiences survivors may encounter immediately following or long after a traumatic experience.
Trauma, including one-time, multiple, or long-lasting repetitive events, affects everyone differently. Some individuals may clearly display criteria associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but many more individuals will exhibit resilient responses or brief subclinical symptoms or consequences that fall outside of diagnostic criteria. The impact of trauma can be subtle, insidious, or outright destructive. How an event affects an individual depends on many factors, including characteristics of the individual, the type and characteristics of the event(s), developmental processes, the meaning of the trauma, and sociocultural factors.
This chapter begins with an overview of common responses, emphasizing that traumatic stress reactions are normal reactions to abnormal circumstances. It highlights common short- and long-term responses to traumatic experiences in the context of individuals who may seek behavioral health services. This chapter discusses psychological symptoms not represented in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013a), and responses associated with trauma that either fall below the threshold of mental disorders or reflect resilience. It also addresses common disorders associated with traumatic stress. This chapter explores the role of culture in defining mental illness, particularly PTSD, and ends by addressing co-occurring mental and substance-related disorders.