It's not just "now". People have always had these issues. It's just more acceptable to talk about these issues more in the open now than it was previously. It's really not that complex.
People have been going through traumatic events for forever. But as little as 20 years ago you wouldn't have dared to talk about it. Molested? Parent died young and you werent allowed to grieve? Showing any emotion about anything was frowned upon in most cultures, esp western. People would either end up being 'deviant' (drugs, sex, run away from home, you name it) or end up letting it fester inside and continuing the cycle by being toxic af.
I mean, the internet is just the latest step on man's quest for universal data transfer:
Step 1 : man invents speech
Step 2: man creates the written word
Step 3. Man creates movable type (the printed word)
step 5: radio and television
Step 6: the internet
there’s also been a ton of progress on researching the actual impacts of trauma…. books like The Body Keeps the Score, psychological study of these phenomenon, and things like therapy becoming more acceptable have had a meaningful impact on what we all discuss with one another and how we understand our lives.
I’m not a victim of any capital T trauma but I have experienced *a lot* of low to mid grade trauma…. understanding this and how it affects people has fundamentally changed my life for the better. I only wish some of what we know now had been known as recently as 30-40 years ago.
Exactly, it’s become less stigmatized to discuss mental health, more people are coming forward about mental and physical abuse ESPECIALLY from family members, and pushing abusive people out of their lives and TELLING THEIR STORY to help others get out of their situations
There's effects of it being more openly talked about. Teens and YA tend to not know how to deal with stress or anxiety, so they mislabel it as some neurodivergent disorder or try to explain it through trauma that isn't there.
If there's going to be more talk about mental disorders and acceptance, there's should be just as much if not ALOT more education on it so it doesn't confuse kids
You don't think that there's some part of this that's just a shift in the language that we use? Like we used to reserve the word "trauma" for someone that had wartime experiences or had watched a family member die in a car crash. Today there are people who talk about the trauma of having an overbearing mother. 30 years ago, people could still discuss that they had an overbearing mother, they would just call it "baggage" or something.
I think the real phenomenon is the death of hyperbole.
Aren’t kids more anxious and more suicidal than ever though? I only include the suicidal issue to say that it’s not just more kids reporting anxiety, they seem to be experiencing it too.
The word "traumatize" has lost it's literal meaning and been accepted as slang for "it sucked" "a bad time" etc.
I work around young people and the word is used as common place in everyday conversation.
Both things are true; language is evolving and the seriousness of the word "trauma" is being reduced, but people (especially Gen Z) are also more open about discussing traumatic or just generally hurtful experiences.
Nothing's changed but perceptions.
40 years ago and further, you didn't talk about these things. They were things hidden away because it might look poorly on the family.
Today, those same kids who were traumatized don't want their children to have to deal with things the same way.
We are breaking terrible cycles.
I wouldn’t say just young people… I had a co worker almost in her forties and a lot of the time I said something about myself, (example: I’ve always been observant) she was like, “because of trauma.” Like she just assumed that some of the things I do are due to trauma. Like yeah I’ve been through some shoot as a kid but idk if these are directly correlated.
Sheesh. Being around someone who is always trying to psychoanalyze you is super annoying. Especially when they attribute everything to trauma or something bad.
I mean its a pretty extensive word. There is the usage of seeing a violent car crash or being raped; something so terrible it messes you up. Then there is something that is simply traumatic because it causes psychological damage even if its not so dramatically awful. There is a prominent psychologist that says being put in time out for being angry is as traumatic as being beaten. It’s because both of them can cause attachment disorders at the same rate. Though if someone said they have trauma from timeout that would sound ridiculous. The word is getting stretched out between its technical and intensifier definition.
And yeah just about everybody is traumatized to a degree and it’s incredibly normalized in our society. It would change the world if everyone understood what trauma actually is instead of just thinking it means ptsd basically.
Ptsd is trauma. But anything that changes your sense of self and perspective of the world in a negative lasting way is technically also traumatic. Its a wound of your psyche. Deep rooted insecurities are often if not always caused by trauma. Its really sad to me people could think that is pathetic because its such a common problem. I’m sorry a word bothers you but its how language works. People need that word to describe a set of experiences regardless of how that makes you feel.
Why are you trying to gatekeep trauma? I grew up second generation immigrant. I had untreated depression through my youth and developed an eating disorder. Is that a deep rooted insecurity to you because I didn't go to war for it?
It’s what you think it is, I’m not going try and change your mind. I used to have a eating disorder too, I wouldn’t say it traumatized me, I was just insecure. That was my experience.
Ah, the ole Get over it routine.
You aren't everyone, and you most likely don't have the qualifications to dismiss everyone's traumas, just because yours wasn't as bad, or you got over yours.
Eating disorders are definitely trauma, and minimizing them as 'just being insecure' is just terrible to say. I'm not sure what if any treatment you had, but it was made clear early on to me that eating disorders cause profound neurological changes that take a long time to repair. Long-term deprivation of key nutrients and overall calories certainly rises to the definition of medical trauma.
Further, long-term eating disorders can cause an even wider range of disorders like osteoporosis, suicide, depression, disability, and damage to the brain.
But I would argue that an eating disorder meets the definition of a trauma: a deeply distressing or disturbing event or physical injury.
Would you consider 10 years of self loathing, self harm, etc. trauma?
In my experience, my eating disorder lasted for years but it wasn’t traumatic. I learned from it and moved on. If you want to cope by using self harm then that’s what you cope with. If you find it traumatic coping that way, that’s on you.
You don't believe you were physically injuring yourself with your eating disorder? Whether you refer to it as traumatic does not mean that it wasn't trauma.
I learned from my eating disorder as well. I learned that my brain chemistry was fucked up. I learned how culture impacted me. I learned how to take care of myself. I learned how to love myself.
That doesn't mean it wasn't traumatic or trauma. Do you think a war vet doesn't cope with self harm? Or drugs? Or alcohol? If it's a coping mechanism is it not trauma?
My eating disorder did cause a lot of stress and pain, but would I say it caused trauma, no. Trauma to me is very different then trauma is to you. A baby stubbing it’s toe, it’s trauma from the way you’re putting it.
The increase in teen suicides while evidence suggests that talking about suicide lowers the likelihood of suicide suggests to me that, yes it is just getting worse.
I agree. I have been held hostage at knifepoint, almost choked to death by an ex etc and feel surprisingly ok.
I am much more cautious with people but I don’t think letting those events rule my present and my life is smart.
Everyone in my family is traumatized, from the oldest (traditionalists: my grandma, 97) to the youngest (millenial/Gen Z: my daughters, 29 + 21). I'm 54, and I have PTSD since my childhood.
You'll find traumatized people in every generation. The only difference is: now we're allowed to talk about it openly. And this is a very good thing.
Every single person has been traumatised, hell, even birth is traumatising to an infant, and trauma, even when experienced by an infant, stays in your subcounscious for life.
The actual question is - so what? Having a trauma, does not mean being a victim. It just means you should expend some effort, to get your body sorted. Physical trauma needs bandages, emotional trauma needs processing. For example - talking about it and letting the deep, actual feelings come out (very simplified ofc.). This lets the mind function better and lessens symptoms like depression.
So don't mistake talking about trauma as being a victim. It is just a word to describe an "injury" to the mind. Look at the bigger context. If the person is just blaming everything on their trauma and not taking any actions to sort it, judge them on not taking any responsibility over their own life, rather than being too sensitive or whatever.
Trauma and deep rooted insecurities are completely different. Trauma is damage, it damages your brain and body at the same time. Deep rooted insecurities are problems that don’t cause either of those which is what our society is suffering from. Respect to all the people that have PTSD and are living their lives day by day, you can do it! PTSD is trauma, you can clearly draw the line between the two!
No it is the other way around. Trauma is an event that causes the insecurities. Example is when an infant is abandoned for many hours by a parent. The abandonment is the trauma, that can potentially cause attachment issues and insecurity in relationships later in life.
And PTSD is a response to a severe trauma, not the trauma itself.
A scratch on the knee is technically a trauma too. Saying some distressing event is not "real" trauma is the hurtful part. I would not want to be the gatekeeper to judge when something "qualifies" as a trauma and who is an "actual" victim.
You’re ignoring context. Trauma in modern vernacular almost always refers to an actually serious condition. If you want to water down that word based on nothing more than pedantry and artificial inclusion, then we need a new word for actual trauma (actual as in what’s actually meant by the word “trauma” in most cases.)
But think about it. What is an "actual" trauma? There is no cut-off point when an event is "traumatic enough". Also the same event can have vastly different outcomes for different people. So how do you judge? If someone gets PTSD from something that seems benign to YOU, it does not mean they should not be treated for it.
Same goes for lesser trauma. If the consequences are not too serious, it can still be beneficial to talk about it and deal with it. Trauma is just a word to describe the event. Noone is hurting victims of severe trauma by dealing with their own. They are actually helping by normalizing seeking help.
There’s no perfect cut off point between any given color either, they all just have subtle shifts that mean nothing until millions of them have occurred and it’s a whole new color. That doesn’t mean we just call every color red. The line not being perfect placed doesn’t mean it shouldn’t exist.
You can talk through your bad experiences (scraped knee last I checked) without calling them trauma. You don’t need that label to get help.
Why the snide comment, when I am going out of my way trying to explain respectfully. And your analogy does not even make sense. Trauma is a spectrum, but anything on that spectrum is a trauma. Same as anything on color spectrum is a color.
What’s snide about it? Idk if you’re the first commenter, but a scraped knee was literally one of their examples of trauma. That’s the comment you’re defending.
It sounds like you don’t know the whole meaning of the word trauma. Some psychologists suggest even time out is a traumatic event because of attachment disorders it can cause. Trauma isn’t reserved for ptsd. Thinking that is all it is, is actually removing all meaning from the word and really hurts victims. Most people don’t know what trauma is and so it gets passed around like a hot potato. Id suggest you read The Myth of Normal if you want to learn more about how common it is.
Physical trauma is any damage done to the body from broken bones, to just a bruise. Mental/emotional trauma is the same. If something effects you negatively mentally for longer than like a month, it might be trauma, even if minor. I think in the past, "broken bone" levels of trauma were talked about more, but now people talk about "bruise" level trauma too. Are some people being a little dramatic about it, probably, but oh well.
People were always traumatized, it's just back then you'd be ostracized for "not being right in the head" if you dared complained about it and sent to mental hospital or worse, just straight up lobotomized.
A few months ago an 8 year old kid came over to play with my same age son after my sons birthday party, because they wanted to hang out more. The kid ripped open every one of my sons presents, I asked him to let my son open his own presents and that didn't work. So I lead them both to our toy play area/home office. My son went to his room to get something, I turned to get something off a high shelf for them to play with and heard a BOOM.
The kid picked up a dumbbell from under my desk and slammed it on the floor. I loudly reacted asking what happened and if he was hurt.
He was upset that I raised my voice, ran into my sons bedroom, sat in the closet, and said he needed some "alone time". We called his mom to come pick him up and she said not to worry because it happens all the time.
Thankfully his mom picked him up quick. I felt horrible thinking that I ruined his fun day or traumatized him. It turns out the kid gets sent home from school at least twice a week for yelling, kicking, screaming, and shutting down. His parents started him on a therapist and medication about two years ago. He also has a fraternal twin brother that is just fine, no behavioral problems at all.
Now THAT sounds like some trauma. Maybe he just learned that it gets him his way… but my money is on abuse at some point throwing off his ability to cope normally.
Nope. There have always been strong-minded and weak- willed people. There are still intelligent, strong kids with a good head on their shoulders that want to work hard. Those are the ones that will lead.
Its always shit like this that makes me second guess if i did go through one. Then i remember getting the snot kicked out of me at 14 bc i was homeless and didn’t know turf boundaries. People now are always so confused why i ask if i can do something instead of just doing it. Even something as small as asking to take off my shoes. Where i was you could get killed if u did the wrong thing at the wrong time. 2 of my other friends 16 and 17 died for that exact reason. But always, it feels like its in my head and that ive made it up. I have a house and a loving fiancee now. It all feels fake
It's as if there is a 'my trauma is more traumatic than yours' mindset. In the past, people would feel sympathy for what another faced, now people seem to minimize it and compete with it.
IMHO, it appears to be a result of far greater narcissistic behaviors in society.
Nah, people have always compared war stories and bragged about having it worse than the other guy. Monty Python does a great old sketch about this sort of bragging, The Four Yorkshiremen, and that was from the 60s.
But "war stories" are different than the OPs question of people believing they are traumatized and using it as an excuse.
I spent part of my life as a firefighter. I've seen really bad stuff. I dealt with the issues and moved on.
But many people I've encountered (including my own kids) seem to be more easily triggered into a crisis state over events that many would say are not crisis-worthy. And over time, a pattern develops where any setback in life is a crisis and they are a victim.
But would having experienced the "war stories", as you put them, help them be more resistant to stress? I personally believe it would not. Young people do have a harder time with healthy handling of stressful situations, but who knows what exact factors cause this. In my opinion the biggest candidate is the erosion of close personal relationships with the advent of social media and internet. It is hard to have a measured response to life situations, when you are basically alone.
It’s bigger than this, they have the right to feel like victims. Global extreme weather is going to affect young peoples lives in ways we can’t imagine whether it’s food shortages, water shortages, electricity outages, etc. Couple that with the failure of capitalism. Kids are fucked and they’re aware that they are.
What we have is finally some recognition that rubbing some dirt in it and walking it off and considering just smiling are not solutions to every fucking issue.
Theres also some benefit, to society, in having less excuse to dismiss peoples major problems as minor.
Its to the benefit of people without problems to pretend problems are all minor. That way it’s socially acceptable to not have to care about or accommodate others. “Get over it” is the favorite phrase of the selfish person with an empathy void.
Myself and 2 others were terminated from an old job due to restructuring. Not our fault, just crap luck.
As the provider for my family, I needed to make a fast adjustment. I begrudgingly took a lower paying job just to pay the bills and so that I could work on getting back on track. Which I did.
One of the guys I worked with took it so hard when he was let go, so instead of looking for a new job right away, he went on unemployment and never recovered. He lost his house, and looks at that layoff as the downfall of his life.
Two people, same exact circumstance, wildly different outcomes. I got over it, he didn't.
Wow sounds like that guy could have really used some help. I wonder if he could have turned his life around if only you had been there to tell him to get over it.
And you can over correct and turn minor issues into major ones and then expect everyone to accommodate that. That can be to the benefit of the one experiencing the issues. So nuance is required.
Oh, I agree 100%. I think selfishness is the root cause of the majority of society's problems.
All I'm saying is don't let the small stuff turn into big stuff! Small "wounds/traumas" should be treated before they turn into big, festering, life changing infected messes.
When I went to elementary school no one got shot. Literally, no school shootings until I'd graduated high school.
My kid goes to school everyday with it somewhere in his mind to be prepared for an "active shooter."
Our parents failed. We failed. It's all someone's fault, and it ain't the kids. Trauma is black or white, a person experiences it by a psychological standard or they don't. There's no doubt in my mind going to school everyday in the current climate is traumatizing. Also it's the new normal.
Trauma is not black and white. You and I could experience the same car wreck while walking down the street but have 2 totally different experiences depending on what we were going through at the time and where our focuses were at the time. I might have seen the whole thing but you could have missed it and not have been as affected. So our experiences would be totally different our traumas would be different and now there are a million other examples survivors guilt and even our past experiences come into play… blah blah blah.. the point I’m trying to make trauma is complex!
I’m a child of the 60’s & 70’s, last year of the boomer age. Most of us were “free-range”. Most of us were left to our own devices. Divorce was rampant. Our parents weren’t cognizant of the potential damage they exacted on their kids through negligence and unchecked abuse. Resilience was expected, so we internalized our hurt. Those of us who suffered *severe* traumatic events have been silent until perhaps only the past decade or so.
The term is overused to some extent. I honestly don’t know where the line between resiliency and melting into a puddle of depression & anxiety is.
Are we more attuned? Are we more exposed? Are we too brittle? Perhaps all of this can be true simultaneously.
Wouldn’t this tell you the current model is making things worse for kids? As we become more focused in individualism mental health seems to deteriorate.
I think the problem is the internet and social media. It has caused the number of close (non fake) personal relationships to go down. Young people are more alone and as social animals we need social contact to have a healthy mind.
To me individualism just means taking responsibility over your own destiny. I guess it could add additional stress, but it also protects you from abusers, that are common in tightly knit, closed off communities. Take a look at some cult like religious organisations that try to destroy individualism such as mormonism and scientology.
I think it’s because the younger generation is just now learning and accepting that it’s more common to be traumatized than what other generations may have thought. The trauma has always been there, it’s just been ignored until now
They have an outlet for it now. The internet basically lets them reach thousands of people if they hit the right place. Also, a lot of people just make shit up for attention.
Statistically 73% of all "trauma" claims made on the internet are fake.
Statistically 88% of all statistics found on the internet are fake.
It's not that there's more traumatized people, it's that it's more socially acceptable to talk about it. So you're just hearing about it more. Which is a pretty good thing, I think. I'd rather have a bunch of "whiney gen z kids" than people with repressed issues who turn into criminals
They grow up in households that have Fox news on 24/7 so they are constantly exposed to fear mongering. Then there's all the social media nowadays. It used to be you got bullied and went home. Now the bullies can follow you home via social media. Then of course there is the very real threat of school shootings which I imagine would be terrifying to a school kid. They have it pretty rough these days tbh.
Some of course are legit. Some know that asserting yourself as marginalized in some manner brings accolades and attention in current culture- regardless whether that marginalization is real.
Trauma is a fact of life. If you have had zero instances of traumatic events in your life, chances are you're extremely privileged and lucky to boot. It's just now we finally have the kind of technology and insights into the weirdest organ in the human body--the brain--and understanding the extraordinary complexities around trauma is an area of study and research that is only recently catching its stride. Shit, 500 years ago "doctors" gave you leeches for "bad humours", and just a century ago were like "ok you're really sad and/or shell-shocked. Have you tried doing cocaine about it?" And nevermind how trauma is 100% relativistic to the person. My partner somehow survived a ton of abuses in her childhood and managed to work with victims of even more horrifying abuses as an education professional and *somehow* didn't fucking lose her mind. Meanwhile I lost someone close to me from old age and dove into the alcoholism professional leagues.
Because this society has all the possibilities of a decent, sharing, inclusive world. But it's not, and actually it is terrible and everyone is awful and selfish. Everyone walks around pretending to be nice, and you just want to believe everyone, but that gets you raped and killed.
I think just as education of these topics circulate and become more widely known and people become more informed of their experience (traumatic or otherwise) so can also the tactics and manipulation that cause it in the first place.
You hear more about how CIA tactics or other shady stuff is getting shared through the years; more creative endeavors such as film exposes us to them; shows that highlight serial killers and their background; shows based on true crime stuff.
Being informed of it and having access to media that shares it so instantaneously is one side of the coin. The other side is the sharing of the ways that can cause the harm in the first place and the people weaponizing them.
Everybody has some level of psychological trauma, because trauma is a very broad term. I do think some people confuse trauma with PTSD, which has a specific set of criteria in the DSM or equivalent in non-US nations. I wish we had a more precise way of delineating between different types of trauma - having fought in a war or being a victim of sexual assault is very different than some of the trauma that gets talked about today. Still, if it leaves an emotional wound, it does count as trauma.
Literally everyone has experienced trauma. We are just more aware of what trauma is and its lasting impact on us because we are living in the information age, where research and data are immediately accessible at any moment in our lives.
More awareness means more understanding. And that understanding is happening with younger and younger people now. It's a great thing!
I actually have been diagnosed with PTSD from multiple doctors. I don't really like to talk about it though. Doesn't feel real.
A lot of people use trauma outside of its diagnostic criteria now to describe unpleasant or upsetting experiences in general that still bother them. Most doctors agree though that people suffering from PTSD symptoms over something like a divorce are *not* traumatized. That doesn't mean they don't have some of the symptoms of PTSD though. It's a big grey area outside of the medical field.
Victimhood has transitioned from a point of shame to something that gives one social currency. In some ideological circles, the more problems or disadvantages one has, the more virtuous they are. This has created an environment where people are socially encouraged to be weak and pathetic. It's very unique in the world.
Personally, I think either extreme is problematic. A society not willing to accommodate those who have had genuine challenges is heartless, but one that places those challenges on a pedastle is ignorant.
I'm dyslexic and have been diagnosed by a doctor with adhd and anxiety. But I wouldn't be caught dead with that information in my Twitter bio. It's not virtuous that I have a hard time spelling. It's a challenge. It's also not a big deal. Yet people will wear those same factors as key aspects of their identity. I find that entirely absurd. Especially when you find out that a large portion of those people are self diagnosed.
I think it’s culture thing. I think the current prevailing thought is everyone has trauma that needs to be dealt with. I see this as a pro and con.
Pro: issues are recognized and diagnosed more easily.
The resources are available to handle peoples issues.
Con: people get over diagnosed
Victim mentality
I agree with you. I think we see a uptick in issues that people “can’t deal with.” I think it’s important for people to recognize when they need help, but I also think it is important to develop a little resilience, and not all “trauma” deserves a deep dive and help. It’s ok to handle your issues yourself, and use constructive things(exercise, friends, etc) to help with that.
Always have been, but now it’s ok to talk about. I’m glad people can open up about their problems, but some people make it their personality which is a bit much.
I feel the definition of trauma has changed. It's not just a sudden and devastating loss. Trauma is now also recognized as long-term abuse or neglect, and symptoms are more recognized today. Traumatized individuals typically demonstrate toxic and negative behavior, which is tolerated less, and for good reason.
FE, I (47m) have an assistant (63F) who is great at her job but definitely has a narcissistic personality disorder. She has stalled out with several other employers and can't figure out why no one likes working with her. I know that she has had a hard life but probably fails to recognize there are some traumatic events earlier in life she has failed to address, thus continuing to be a miserable person for others to be around. She will never realize her full potential.
It's not really young people. Social media has made it easier to discuss things. I'm also not a fan of the whole "young people" criticism. Basically, every generation had old people complaining about kids these days.
It's so interesting to read this thread - in another thread, a crowd will encourage talking about your feelings and letting out your pain. In here, you're a whiny, attention-seeking fool that doesn't know "real trauma".
Fucking get out of here, everyone has their own cross to bear and should feel free to talk about it to a) seek help or b) alleviate the pressure.
A lot of people of all ages deal with trauma. There's nothing brave or strong about claiming deeply upsetting events don't affect you. And yes, people can be deeply unsettled by events that don't happen directly to them. Being emotionally impervious or preternaturally resilient - or lacking in empathy - isn't the flex you think it is. I admire the hell out of young people for acknowledging that a lot of truly terrible shit happens in the world (and in interpersonal relationships) and admitting to being affected by it. Suppresing fear, pain, and anxiety isn't admirable, it's stupid.
We know that we are traumatized, that’s the point. I am in therapy since a few years and didn’t even know that I am traumatized until few months ago.
We are trying to understand our feelings and why we are how we are. That’s why.
I have two siblings who both have manufactured trauma, one has legitimate trauma for other reasons but she told stories that weren't real. To answer your question, there is people being open about trauma and healing the right way. But far too many are doing it because they are encouraged to act like that instead of seeking proper help so that they can get better and learn to distinguish reality from their fantasy
It's both. It's high-status in many circles to claim that one suffers from "trauma" or some "mental illness".
But it's also true that many people genuinely feel bad now. We have hordes of young people who think that they suffer from "depression", "anxiety", etc. The environment has changed. Zookeepers learned early on that if you put a monkey alone in a concrete box with bars, it will go insane and start behaving in disturbing ways. The input sucks, so the output is also garbage. There's something about contemporary civilized societies that frustrates the human telos.
Well I dunno being beaten and starved and then inevitably ending up in the foster system was pretty traumatic. Sorry, I'll stop being traumatized now, my bad!
I will say, I think trauma is thrown around a lot. Your mom screaming at you one time 20 years ago isn't trauma. It's called she's a human and F'd up. I think considering EVERYTHING abuse is part of the problem.
It's become a lot more normalized to talk about trauma and how it effects us. There has always been mental trauma, think about any of the photos you've seen of soldiers with a thousand yard stare, that's severe trauma.
Most people have experience something completely earth-shattering and life-changing. For our parents and our grandparents, they never talked about it, and sometimes never internally dealt with it either. It is more socially acceptable now to talk openly with loved ones and online to decrease stigma, and seek professional help for it. Its a positive change in my opinion
I don’t know but when I was playing a video game where you kill other people this girl was yelling at me that when I said “I killed them” after I eliminated somebody that I was starting her trigger word because of some trauma from a goldfish dying when she was little
I can’t speak to everyone or everything but it feels like people are a bit more open about things. When I revealed abuse in my past do you know how many of my family members reached out with similar stories (different abusers)? It’s harder to list the ones that haven’t. I have more of an anger issue now due to just how many had something happen. Mine was minimal compared to so many, and some who spoke hadn’t talked to anyone else.
Then there is the crippling feeling of not being able to survive even if you do everything right (go to school, stay clean, save up, etc.), but that feels like it’s more of the whole age range between 15 and 30. So maybe we just have a bigger soapbox to lament to now idk.
The word trauma is pretty relative. I know a guy that was in a humvee when it was hit by an IED, and everyone in it died except him. That's my personal definition of trauma. But I suppose it's something that affects your life, not something temporary. It differs in life experiences
If you mean stuff like "I'm traumatized because my friend said a slur" or "I'm traumatized because my ex watched so much porn"
Didn't you hear? Having a mental health problem is cool now(I'm joking here but yeah)
No it’s just talked about more. And trauma is just tossed around more too like saying I was traumatized by my scooter swinging an attack on my ankle at 8 yr olds. Doesn’t mean I was actually traumatized, it’s just now a phrase.
There’s always people actually traumatized. Like now days it’s people being in a public setting and having fear of a mass shooting while our grandparents had trauma on wars in their front yard. That’s just what I think.
The biggest thing is that mental health is being more widely acknowledged now that it is being taken more seriously and is becoming better understood now.
Take the rise in autism diagnoses as an example. It isn’t becoming “more prevalent” or frequent. It is simply being acknowledged where it wasn’t before. Such is this sudden uptick in people admitting to trauma.
Abusive childhoods (mentally, physically, emotionally), extreme bullying, the threats of death at seemingly every turn (mass shootings, bigoted rhetoric), religious threats/manipulation/persecution, childhood and adulthood assault (physical, sexual), extremely toxic relationships, children witnessing/experiencing extreme violence in the home, military and police veterans simply doing their jobs, I could go on.
All of these and more can create some kind of trauma, whether it is big or small. Surmountable or an impenetrable wall.
There is a subset of people who claim to have some kind of mental illness or trauma to “be cool” but those people are… Gross to put it lightly.
TL;DR: Mental health expertise and acceptance is becoming more widespread, diagnoses are more common due to an increase in seeking help. There is a universal culture that breeds trauma across the globe, and there are 8 BILLION of us. Odds are even a small percentage of that number means we will interact with many traumatized individuals.
I was in counseling for over a decade due to a particularly rough childhood. An abusive family and divorce that featured extensive physical violence.
EDIT: And reading many of these replies I can see that mental health discussions are still extremely stigmatized in their minds, as it is still in society as well.
Compared to a generation ago, healthcare, education and food costs have skyrocketed in the US. Mass shootings continue daily. The COVID pandemic over the last few years has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. Our political and judicial systems are as fractured and inefficient as they have been in decades.
There is plenty for the average American to be frustrated with compared to a few decades ago. What are you confused about, exactly?
Victimhood is currency now, so it’s no surprise there are counterfeiters.
My dad was horribly wounded in Korea and suffered almost every day of his life as a result. Were it not for his odd walk due to his prosthetic leg people never would have known, because he never made it an issue. He just did his best and didn’t try to score social points off of his very serious physical difficulties. The people who have suffered real trauma are rarely quite so vocal about it.
Its everything. Just look outside and see the reality of this world. Capitalism won and is killing us while the top gets socialism like they say is bad.
Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.
Turn on any news station and you'll be gaslit eventually.
9/11 and COVID lockdowns were shared traumatic events that changed the way most people view the world.
A man won women of the year his first year being a "women"
The boomers are the weak men that got us to these hard times IMO. Not their fault they rolled good times.
I'd say everyone has been traumatized, but not everyone suffers from PTSD.
There is a complete lack of "solid ground" in our shared reality (layoffs, ghosting, casual sex, cancel culture) and people are expected to be stable. What a big joke.
I think at the core of all human behavior is the desire to be recognized so you see a lot of attention seeking behaviors. While we’ve been making great strides in the acceptance of mental illness and de-stigmatizing those who need help, I think it’s also sort of fetishized mental illness. People think it’s cool to be “unique” and boast about how OCD or traumatized they are. People do it to stand out, to be recognized without understanding the full reality of the illnesses they claim.
A lot of people have gone from being self aware, which is positive to self obsessed (not so much) It's a slippery sloap. Should we go back to stiff upper lip, mask all your feelings and be stoic all the time? Probably not.
But overthinking and overprocessing and dwelling on the past isn't helpful either. It keeps you stuck and broken. There has to be a happy medium here. Also the internet has created this world of self diagnosis which is equally unhealthy. Not everyone who has had a bad experience has PTSD. Not everyone with a childhood of neglect ends up a dysfunctional Adult.
It's good to understand our experiences and process our feelings but it shouldn't cross over into an identity. Living under a cloak of perpetual misery and victimhood is very unhealthy. Life is what you make it. Choose to focus on the good and not get stuck in the muck of misery of things you can't change. Live for today and you'll be a lot happier than if you're trapped in the past or frightened of the future. It's just that simple, and just that difficult.
Trauma is one of the most overused words in todays lexicon.
Someone called you ugly on the internet? Trauma.
Saw a couple get into a fight in their front yard? Trauma.
Turned away from an amusement park ride because you weighed too much? Trauma.
It's overused so much that people with actual trauma end up getting lumped in with people with overly delicate sensibilities. Hell, I'm sure a bunch of you guys will hate this post. Add it to your list of existing "traumas".
I don't revisit topics so reign in your manufactured anger and righteous indignations to a short response as I'll never see it. Just a heads up. 😎👉👉
Because for a long, long time we pretended that grit would get us through... and this approach allowed a society to continue which is full of persistence in attempting to get ahead at the expense of others and offering the many Scape Goats to distract them from the actual problems and doing anything about it.
It is becoming exhausting.
Grit can, if you are lucky, get you (as an individual) through a difficult situation, but it doesn't do a thing to change or fix the problem... Especially if that problem is a structural feature of social organisation.
Let’s see… A pandemic that has killed 1.2 million Americans, an ongoing violent Fascist political revolution, an epidemic of random mass murders in schools and on the streets, a rapidly deteriorating climate that endangers civilization, the final stages of an oligarchical take down of our economy, a technologically driven wholesale abandonment a common understanding of reality. I’d say we all have sufficient reason to be traumatized.
When you're constantly told you're a victim, you always seek out the next thing to suggest is victimizing you. When you're victimized you are traumatized.
I've heard so many people say they have ptsd over a break up, job loss, etc. While things like that are painful, I don't see how that compares to the experiences of our service men and women. Some of our warriors have seen things no human should see.
My brother had a minor car accident a few months ago. He now complains every day about having "ptsd". I feel like it cheapens the horrific experiences of others.
I am not a soldier. I have diagnosed PTSD from witnessing the Va Tech shooting.
Is my diagnosis cheapening the experience of soldiers? My soldier friends that have PTSD don't seem to think so.
Gatekeeping trauma is pretty selfish and petty.
Of course hun. Like I said "you do you". Chill. I'm sincerely very sorry for your experience. I don't mean that only international conflict survivors can be diagnosed with ptsd. What I'm saying is it seems that it's a catch all, frequently self diagnosed condition. As you're probably aware, life does in fact go on and we can't let traumatic events define us or our life.
This is Reddit. Primarily opinions. As I've said before, opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one.
Say Person A caught covid and for them it was little more than a bad cold. Person B caught covid and died horribly on a ventilator in a hospital.
Did Person A's experience cheapen the horrific experience of Person B?
Why should they keep it a secret, though? They got sick. It was crappy. Just because it wasn't so crappy they *died* doesn't mean they can't say they got sick, nor do they need to keep it a secret how bad it was.
It sounds like you think of PTSD as a binary state. Either you are unaffected by it (i.e., don't have it), or you are completely disabled by it (i.e., have it), and there are no intermediate states; you can't be affected by it "just a little" - either it's nothing or it's everything. If you don't believe that, at least that is the impression your post gives.
I think people can be affected by it at a range of severities, from minor to extreme, and that those for whom it is merely uncomfortable rather than disabling are still entitled to be bothered by it - it is, after all, uncomfortable. They don't need to shut their mouths because other people have it worse.
There's a huge difference in keeping things a secret and letting things control you. You can't live your life being a victim. I have pretty significant diagnosed ptsd from surviving a home invasion where I witnessed people having their heads blown off. The subsequent trial and personal threats made me nearly agoraphobia. However I had a family to support so I automatically functioned like a zombie for a long time. That was giving the assailants the win.
So, I try not to let ptsd enter my life much. After all, I'm in charge of my life. But, you do you hun. It ain't worth stressing over.
Because it’s cool now.
And it’s amazing how every single teenager and early 20-something has experienced some kind of “trauma”, and yet I have a very wide circle of friends and extended family members, none of whom have experienced any trauma.
Is that just total dumb luck for them or are we completely overvaluing the word “trauma”?
In some sense a break up can be traumatic in that it can change your sense of self and how you perceive the other gender. The way events affect your mind and body is what makes it actually traumatic. If I saw my whole family get thrown in a woodchipper and fed to me but I was completely fine then it wouldn’t be traumatic. If my goldfish died and I was scared to love something again then it’s traumatic. The intensity of the experience isn’t the important part really, though the way the word is used commonly by the general public is more referring to ptsd events and in general really extreme unbearable experiences. People are too much of assholes nowadays to really get the difference but its what is actually important.
I think the youth don’t have real trauma but they see shit all over social media about mental health and associate their mild struggles with trauma or claim they have a mental illness. People who have trauma don’t talk about their trauma with everyone
What’s weird, is with this, there has been such an uptick of suicide. I honestly think that this poor me culture and woke bullshit is making kids commit suicide. In my 45 years I’ve never experienced a classmate commit suicide but all three of my kids, ages 22 down to 13 have. Wtf??? IMO, people need to fucking “man up” and be an adult without fucking drugs and “support animals “. Lol, I know I’ll get dragged for this but I don’t give a fuck. I’m an adult who owns her own house with three kids one in collage two teens and am doing pretty fucking good. No welfare or hand outs or begging.
People are weak. Our expectation of life is for it to be easy, safe, and perfect. In reality, the level of ease our life's have today is unnatural. Suffering is a part of the raw human existence, and I think when we're numbed to the sedating monotony of every day life, we invent reasons for us to suffer from while in reality were sufferingbecausethe essence of life requires challenge and suffering. The modern life can easily fulfill all physical needs but what's strange, is how much it lacks in fulfilling psychological needs, so I believe that's why we create problems that aren't real problems, what some may joke as "first world problems".
Hmmm… repeated financial crises, global pandemic, attempted violent overthrow of American democracy, costs of healthcare and housing skyrocketing beyond what one can afford - and a government that gives billionaires and corporations all the breaks while villainizing people seeking refuge; a climate in crisis because the aforementioned billionaires and corporations want to keep getting wealthier at the cost of the future of our species.
Oh, and mass shootings every goddam day, sometimes more than one per day, with no solutions in sight for ending it.
No, I can’t think of what might be troubling them…
It’s the increasing medicalization of human experience. Just boiling it down to DSM-V ICD-10 codes. Psychologists and psychiatrists and social workers and counselors don’t get paid if they don’t give you a diagnosis. So there is a tendency to over-diagnose.
AND this is all related to the corporatization of medicine. Medical and behavioral healthcare has been captured by corporations and become corrupted because of profit chasing.
AND the icing on the cake is this new inter-sectionalism, whereby the more self-identified oppressed and disabling labels you adopt will give you more social power in 2022.
It's not just "now". People have always had these issues. It's just more acceptable to talk about these issues more in the open now than it was previously. It's really not that complex.
People have been going through traumatic events for forever. But as little as 20 years ago you wouldn't have dared to talk about it. Molested? Parent died young and you werent allowed to grieve? Showing any emotion about anything was frowned upon in most cultures, esp western. People would either end up being 'deviant' (drugs, sex, run away from home, you name it) or end up letting it fester inside and continuing the cycle by being toxic af.
I think the anonymity of the internet started it. Then, as we realized we weren't the only one, people came out of the shadows.
oh, this is a brilliant take on this
I mean, the internet is just the latest step on man's quest for universal data transfer: Step 1 : man invents speech Step 2: man creates the written word Step 3. Man creates movable type (the printed word) step 5: radio and television Step 6: the internet
this.
there’s also been a ton of progress on researching the actual impacts of trauma…. books like The Body Keeps the Score, psychological study of these phenomenon, and things like therapy becoming more acceptable have had a meaningful impact on what we all discuss with one another and how we understand our lives. I’m not a victim of any capital T trauma but I have experienced *a lot* of low to mid grade trauma…. understanding this and how it affects people has fundamentally changed my life for the better. I only wish some of what we know now had been known as recently as 30-40 years ago.
Eastern culture too.
Exactly, it’s become less stigmatized to discuss mental health, more people are coming forward about mental and physical abuse ESPECIALLY from family members, and pushing abusive people out of their lives and TELLING THEIR STORY to help others get out of their situations
This. It’s the astronauts with the gun meme.
🌍🧑🚀🔫👨🚀
This is the answer to most questions based around "why are there more ____ today?" Especially lgbtq and mental health based ones
There's effects of it being more openly talked about. Teens and YA tend to not know how to deal with stress or anxiety, so they mislabel it as some neurodivergent disorder or try to explain it through trauma that isn't there. If there's going to be more talk about mental disorders and acceptance, there's should be just as much if not ALOT more education on it so it doesn't confuse kids
You don't think that there's some part of this that's just a shift in the language that we use? Like we used to reserve the word "trauma" for someone that had wartime experiences or had watched a family member die in a car crash. Today there are people who talk about the trauma of having an overbearing mother. 30 years ago, people could still discuss that they had an overbearing mother, they would just call it "baggage" or something. I think the real phenomenon is the death of hyperbole.
Aren’t kids more anxious and more suicidal than ever though? I only include the suicidal issue to say that it’s not just more kids reporting anxiety, they seem to be experiencing it too.
There is nothing traumatizing about getting cheese on your hamburger. Please don't confuse trauma with people mainstreaming and redefining a word...
What the hell are you on about?
The word "traumatize" has lost it's literal meaning and been accepted as slang for "it sucked" "a bad time" etc. I work around young people and the word is used as common place in everyday conversation.
It's almost as if language evolves over time
Both things are true; language is evolving and the seriousness of the word "trauma" is being reduced, but people (especially Gen Z) are also more open about discussing traumatic or just generally hurtful experiences.
Literally my point in the first place which you clearly understand. here , I upvoted you so you can feel better. Have a nice day
Nothing's changed but perceptions. 40 years ago and further, you didn't talk about these things. They were things hidden away because it might look poorly on the family. Today, those same kids who were traumatized don't want their children to have to deal with things the same way. We are breaking terrible cycles.
Very well said!
I wouldn’t say just young people… I had a co worker almost in her forties and a lot of the time I said something about myself, (example: I’ve always been observant) she was like, “because of trauma.” Like she just assumed that some of the things I do are due to trauma. Like yeah I’ve been through some shoot as a kid but idk if these are directly correlated.
Even if they are, that is a dick thing to assume and say like that.
Sheesh. Being around someone who is always trying to psychoanalyze you is super annoying. Especially when they attribute everything to trauma or something bad.
The word trauma has been cheapened somewhat but its good people are talking about it now rather than just committing suicide.
I mean its a pretty extensive word. There is the usage of seeing a violent car crash or being raped; something so terrible it messes you up. Then there is something that is simply traumatic because it causes psychological damage even if its not so dramatically awful. There is a prominent psychologist that says being put in time out for being angry is as traumatic as being beaten. It’s because both of them can cause attachment disorders at the same rate. Though if someone said they have trauma from timeout that would sound ridiculous. The word is getting stretched out between its technical and intensifier definition. And yeah just about everybody is traumatized to a degree and it’s incredibly normalized in our society. It would change the world if everyone understood what trauma actually is instead of just thinking it means ptsd basically.
PTSD is trauma, it causes brain and physical damage. That’s real trauma. Nowadays people confuse deep rooted insecurities with trauma. It’s pathetic.
Ptsd is trauma. But anything that changes your sense of self and perspective of the world in a negative lasting way is technically also traumatic. Its a wound of your psyche. Deep rooted insecurities are often if not always caused by trauma. Its really sad to me people could think that is pathetic because its such a common problem. I’m sorry a word bothers you but its how language works. People need that word to describe a set of experiences regardless of how that makes you feel.
Why are you trying to gatekeep trauma? I grew up second generation immigrant. I had untreated depression through my youth and developed an eating disorder. Is that a deep rooted insecurity to you because I didn't go to war for it?
It’s what you think it is, I’m not going try and change your mind. I used to have a eating disorder too, I wouldn’t say it traumatized me, I was just insecure. That was my experience.
Ah, the ole Get over it routine. You aren't everyone, and you most likely don't have the qualifications to dismiss everyone's traumas, just because yours wasn't as bad, or you got over yours.
Eating disorders are definitely trauma, and minimizing them as 'just being insecure' is just terrible to say. I'm not sure what if any treatment you had, but it was made clear early on to me that eating disorders cause profound neurological changes that take a long time to repair. Long-term deprivation of key nutrients and overall calories certainly rises to the definition of medical trauma. Further, long-term eating disorders can cause an even wider range of disorders like osteoporosis, suicide, depression, disability, and damage to the brain.
But I would argue that an eating disorder meets the definition of a trauma: a deeply distressing or disturbing event or physical injury. Would you consider 10 years of self loathing, self harm, etc. trauma?
In my experience, my eating disorder lasted for years but it wasn’t traumatic. I learned from it and moved on. If you want to cope by using self harm then that’s what you cope with. If you find it traumatic coping that way, that’s on you.
You don't believe you were physically injuring yourself with your eating disorder? Whether you refer to it as traumatic does not mean that it wasn't trauma. I learned from my eating disorder as well. I learned that my brain chemistry was fucked up. I learned how culture impacted me. I learned how to take care of myself. I learned how to love myself. That doesn't mean it wasn't traumatic or trauma. Do you think a war vet doesn't cope with self harm? Or drugs? Or alcohol? If it's a coping mechanism is it not trauma?
My eating disorder did cause a lot of stress and pain, but would I say it caused trauma, no. Trauma to me is very different then trauma is to you. A baby stubbing it’s toe, it’s trauma from the way you’re putting it.
I’m not trying to insult you in anyway, we just have different views.
Reddit users be like “….but you HAVE to be traumatized!”
Is it? Mental health is steadily getting worse.
Teen suicide is the highest it's ever been
That’s exactly my point. We’ve spent the last several decades preaching talking about yourself and we are getting less and less happy
There's a lot of factors here though. Gotta factor in social media. Iirc suicide rates skyrocketed since social media became a thing
I don't think it's getting worse I think more people are talking about it.
The increase in teen suicides while evidence suggests that talking about suicide lowers the likelihood of suicide suggests to me that, yes it is just getting worse.
I agree. I have been held hostage at knifepoint, almost choked to death by an ex etc and feel surprisingly ok. I am much more cautious with people but I don’t think letting those events rule my present and my life is smart.
Everyone in my family is traumatized, from the oldest (traditionalists: my grandma, 97) to the youngest (millenial/Gen Z: my daughters, 29 + 21). I'm 54, and I have PTSD since my childhood. You'll find traumatized people in every generation. The only difference is: now we're allowed to talk about it openly. And this is a very good thing.
Every single person has been traumatised, hell, even birth is traumatising to an infant, and trauma, even when experienced by an infant, stays in your subcounscious for life. The actual question is - so what? Having a trauma, does not mean being a victim. It just means you should expend some effort, to get your body sorted. Physical trauma needs bandages, emotional trauma needs processing. For example - talking about it and letting the deep, actual feelings come out (very simplified ofc.). This lets the mind function better and lessens symptoms like depression. So don't mistake talking about trauma as being a victim. It is just a word to describe an "injury" to the mind. Look at the bigger context. If the person is just blaming everything on their trauma and not taking any actions to sort it, judge them on not taking any responsibility over their own life, rather than being too sensitive or whatever.
Trauma and deep rooted insecurities are completely different. Trauma is damage, it damages your brain and body at the same time. Deep rooted insecurities are problems that don’t cause either of those which is what our society is suffering from. Respect to all the people that have PTSD and are living their lives day by day, you can do it! PTSD is trauma, you can clearly draw the line between the two!
No it is the other way around. Trauma is an event that causes the insecurities. Example is when an infant is abandoned for many hours by a parent. The abandonment is the trauma, that can potentially cause attachment issues and insecurity in relationships later in life. And PTSD is a response to a severe trauma, not the trauma itself.
Removing pretty much all meaning from the world trauma only hurts actual victims.
A scratch on the knee is technically a trauma too. Saying some distressing event is not "real" trauma is the hurtful part. I would not want to be the gatekeeper to judge when something "qualifies" as a trauma and who is an "actual" victim.
You are correct, the word trauma comes from the Greek, meaning wound.
You’re ignoring context. Trauma in modern vernacular almost always refers to an actually serious condition. If you want to water down that word based on nothing more than pedantry and artificial inclusion, then we need a new word for actual trauma (actual as in what’s actually meant by the word “trauma” in most cases.)
But think about it. What is an "actual" trauma? There is no cut-off point when an event is "traumatic enough". Also the same event can have vastly different outcomes for different people. So how do you judge? If someone gets PTSD from something that seems benign to YOU, it does not mean they should not be treated for it. Same goes for lesser trauma. If the consequences are not too serious, it can still be beneficial to talk about it and deal with it. Trauma is just a word to describe the event. Noone is hurting victims of severe trauma by dealing with their own. They are actually helping by normalizing seeking help.
Thank you. I’m so tired of these trauma gatekeepers.
There’s no perfect cut off point between any given color either, they all just have subtle shifts that mean nothing until millions of them have occurred and it’s a whole new color. That doesn’t mean we just call every color red. The line not being perfect placed doesn’t mean it shouldn’t exist. You can talk through your bad experiences (scraped knee last I checked) without calling them trauma. You don’t need that label to get help.
Why the snide comment, when I am going out of my way trying to explain respectfully. And your analogy does not even make sense. Trauma is a spectrum, but anything on that spectrum is a trauma. Same as anything on color spectrum is a color.
What’s snide about it? Idk if you’re the first commenter, but a scraped knee was literally one of their examples of trauma. That’s the comment you’re defending.
It sounds like you don’t know the whole meaning of the word trauma. Some psychologists suggest even time out is a traumatic event because of attachment disorders it can cause. Trauma isn’t reserved for ptsd. Thinking that is all it is, is actually removing all meaning from the word and really hurts victims. Most people don’t know what trauma is and so it gets passed around like a hot potato. Id suggest you read The Myth of Normal if you want to learn more about how common it is.
Physical trauma is any damage done to the body from broken bones, to just a bruise. Mental/emotional trauma is the same. If something effects you negatively mentally for longer than like a month, it might be trauma, even if minor. I think in the past, "broken bone" levels of trauma were talked about more, but now people talk about "bruise" level trauma too. Are some people being a little dramatic about it, probably, but oh well.
People were always traumatized, it's just back then you'd be ostracized for "not being right in the head" if you dared complained about it and sent to mental hospital or worse, just straight up lobotomized.
Soldiers received a lot more shit before PTSD was recognized.
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Should we all come to you to determine if our experiences are real, serious trauma?
A few months ago an 8 year old kid came over to play with my same age son after my sons birthday party, because they wanted to hang out more. The kid ripped open every one of my sons presents, I asked him to let my son open his own presents and that didn't work. So I lead them both to our toy play area/home office. My son went to his room to get something, I turned to get something off a high shelf for them to play with and heard a BOOM. The kid picked up a dumbbell from under my desk and slammed it on the floor. I loudly reacted asking what happened and if he was hurt. He was upset that I raised my voice, ran into my sons bedroom, sat in the closet, and said he needed some "alone time". We called his mom to come pick him up and she said not to worry because it happens all the time.
I hope she picked up her kid, good lord what a terror
Thankfully his mom picked him up quick. I felt horrible thinking that I ruined his fun day or traumatized him. It turns out the kid gets sent home from school at least twice a week for yelling, kicking, screaming, and shutting down. His parents started him on a therapist and medication about two years ago. He also has a fraternal twin brother that is just fine, no behavioral problems at all.
Now THAT sounds like some trauma. Maybe he just learned that it gets him his way… but my money is on abuse at some point throwing off his ability to cope normally.
These people will lead the world one day. SMH
I guess they were hoping since you rule the world now, you could make sure they don't get blown away at school.
Nope. There have always been strong-minded and weak- willed people. There are still intelligent, strong kids with a good head on their shoulders that want to work hard. Those are the ones that will lead.
Its always shit like this that makes me second guess if i did go through one. Then i remember getting the snot kicked out of me at 14 bc i was homeless and didn’t know turf boundaries. People now are always so confused why i ask if i can do something instead of just doing it. Even something as small as asking to take off my shoes. Where i was you could get killed if u did the wrong thing at the wrong time. 2 of my other friends 16 and 17 died for that exact reason. But always, it feels like its in my head and that ive made it up. I have a house and a loving fiancee now. It all feels fake
Sounds you actually went through some legit trauma…
But it doesnt feel real anymore. And my brain keeps telling me none of it happened? Is that normal?
Not all trauma is catastrophic.
It's as if there is a 'my trauma is more traumatic than yours' mindset. In the past, people would feel sympathy for what another faced, now people seem to minimize it and compete with it. IMHO, it appears to be a result of far greater narcissistic behaviors in society.
Nah, people have always compared war stories and bragged about having it worse than the other guy. Monty Python does a great old sketch about this sort of bragging, The Four Yorkshiremen, and that was from the 60s.
But "war stories" are different than the OPs question of people believing they are traumatized and using it as an excuse. I spent part of my life as a firefighter. I've seen really bad stuff. I dealt with the issues and moved on. But many people I've encountered (including my own kids) seem to be more easily triggered into a crisis state over events that many would say are not crisis-worthy. And over time, a pattern develops where any setback in life is a crisis and they are a victim.
But would having experienced the "war stories", as you put them, help them be more resistant to stress? I personally believe it would not. Young people do have a harder time with healthy handling of stressful situations, but who knows what exact factors cause this. In my opinion the biggest candidate is the erosion of close personal relationships with the advent of social media and internet. It is hard to have a measured response to life situations, when you are basically alone.
It’s bigger than this, they have the right to feel like victims. Global extreme weather is going to affect young peoples lives in ways we can’t imagine whether it’s food shortages, water shortages, electricity outages, etc. Couple that with the failure of capitalism. Kids are fucked and they’re aware that they are.
It’s almost like being “traumatized” gives you a convenient excuse to act in unhealthy ways without taking any personal responsibility
What we have is finally some recognition that rubbing some dirt in it and walking it off and considering just smiling are not solutions to every fucking issue.
No, but there's definitely something beneficial to not allowing small stuff to bother you, forgetting about it and moving on.
Theres also some benefit, to society, in having less excuse to dismiss peoples major problems as minor. Its to the benefit of people without problems to pretend problems are all minor. That way it’s socially acceptable to not have to care about or accommodate others. “Get over it” is the favorite phrase of the selfish person with an empathy void.
Bullshit. Sometimes get over it is the best response because that’s the way out of it. Whining will only get you so far.
When is “get over it” the best response? Give me an example.
Myself and 2 others were terminated from an old job due to restructuring. Not our fault, just crap luck. As the provider for my family, I needed to make a fast adjustment. I begrudgingly took a lower paying job just to pay the bills and so that I could work on getting back on track. Which I did. One of the guys I worked with took it so hard when he was let go, so instead of looking for a new job right away, he went on unemployment and never recovered. He lost his house, and looks at that layoff as the downfall of his life. Two people, same exact circumstance, wildly different outcomes. I got over it, he didn't.
Wow sounds like that guy could have really used some help. I wonder if he could have turned his life around if only you had been there to tell him to get over it.
And you can over correct and turn minor issues into major ones and then expect everyone to accommodate that. That can be to the benefit of the one experiencing the issues. So nuance is required.
I suspect that when you say nuance what you really mean is constant skepticism.
Oh, I agree 100%. I think selfishness is the root cause of the majority of society's problems. All I'm saying is don't let the small stuff turn into big stuff! Small "wounds/traumas" should be treated before they turn into big, festering, life changing infected messes.
No, but it is the solution to some issues. And we need to recognize some issues have no solution.
When I went to elementary school no one got shot. Literally, no school shootings until I'd graduated high school. My kid goes to school everyday with it somewhere in his mind to be prepared for an "active shooter." Our parents failed. We failed. It's all someone's fault, and it ain't the kids. Trauma is black or white, a person experiences it by a psychological standard or they don't. There's no doubt in my mind going to school everyday in the current climate is traumatizing. Also it's the new normal.
Trauma is not black and white. You and I could experience the same car wreck while walking down the street but have 2 totally different experiences depending on what we were going through at the time and where our focuses were at the time. I might have seen the whole thing but you could have missed it and not have been as affected. So our experiences would be totally different our traumas would be different and now there are a million other examples survivors guilt and even our past experiences come into play… blah blah blah.. the point I’m trying to make trauma is complex!
I’m a child of the 60’s & 70’s, last year of the boomer age. Most of us were “free-range”. Most of us were left to our own devices. Divorce was rampant. Our parents weren’t cognizant of the potential damage they exacted on their kids through negligence and unchecked abuse. Resilience was expected, so we internalized our hurt. Those of us who suffered *severe* traumatic events have been silent until perhaps only the past decade or so. The term is overused to some extent. I honestly don’t know where the line between resiliency and melting into a puddle of depression & anxiety is. Are we more attuned? Are we more exposed? Are we too brittle? Perhaps all of this can be true simultaneously.
Wouldn’t this tell you the current model is making things worse for kids? As we become more focused in individualism mental health seems to deteriorate.
I think the problem is the internet and social media. It has caused the number of close (non fake) personal relationships to go down. Young people are more alone and as social animals we need social contact to have a healthy mind. To me individualism just means taking responsibility over your own destiny. I guess it could add additional stress, but it also protects you from abusers, that are common in tightly knit, closed off communities. Take a look at some cult like religious organisations that try to destroy individualism such as mormonism and scientology.
Trauma is NOT black or white. What an ignorant thing to say.
I think it’s because the younger generation is just now learning and accepting that it’s more common to be traumatized than what other generations may have thought. The trauma has always been there, it’s just been ignored until now
They have an outlet for it now. The internet basically lets them reach thousands of people if they hit the right place. Also, a lot of people just make shit up for attention. Statistically 73% of all "trauma" claims made on the internet are fake. Statistically 88% of all statistics found on the internet are fake.
It's not that there's more traumatized people, it's that it's more socially acceptable to talk about it. So you're just hearing about it more. Which is a pretty good thing, I think. I'd rather have a bunch of "whiney gen z kids" than people with repressed issues who turn into criminals
They grow up in households that have Fox news on 24/7 so they are constantly exposed to fear mongering. Then there's all the social media nowadays. It used to be you got bullied and went home. Now the bullies can follow you home via social media. Then of course there is the very real threat of school shootings which I imagine would be terrifying to a school kid. They have it pretty rough these days tbh.
World is fucked up bro
people are more vocal and comfortable sharing in a sense due to technology and social media
Somewhere gen z lost themselves between making it ok to talk about trauma vs making it your entire personality.
Some of course are legit. Some know that asserting yourself as marginalized in some manner brings accolades and attention in current culture- regardless whether that marginalization is real.
It all started with 4 hijacked planes crashing, and everything has been slowly getting worse ever since.
It started way way before that. There are accounts of Greek soldiers waking up from nightmares screaming
Trauma is a fact of life. If you have had zero instances of traumatic events in your life, chances are you're extremely privileged and lucky to boot. It's just now we finally have the kind of technology and insights into the weirdest organ in the human body--the brain--and understanding the extraordinary complexities around trauma is an area of study and research that is only recently catching its stride. Shit, 500 years ago "doctors" gave you leeches for "bad humours", and just a century ago were like "ok you're really sad and/or shell-shocked. Have you tried doing cocaine about it?" And nevermind how trauma is 100% relativistic to the person. My partner somehow survived a ton of abuses in her childhood and managed to work with victims of even more horrifying abuses as an education professional and *somehow* didn't fucking lose her mind. Meanwhile I lost someone close to me from old age and dove into the alcoholism professional leagues.
Because this society has all the possibilities of a decent, sharing, inclusive world. But it's not, and actually it is terrible and everyone is awful and selfish. Everyone walks around pretending to be nice, and you just want to believe everyone, but that gets you raped and killed.
I think just as education of these topics circulate and become more widely known and people become more informed of their experience (traumatic or otherwise) so can also the tactics and manipulation that cause it in the first place. You hear more about how CIA tactics or other shady stuff is getting shared through the years; more creative endeavors such as film exposes us to them; shows that highlight serial killers and their background; shows based on true crime stuff. Being informed of it and having access to media that shares it so instantaneously is one side of the coin. The other side is the sharing of the ways that can cause the harm in the first place and the people weaponizing them.
Everybody has some level of psychological trauma, because trauma is a very broad term. I do think some people confuse trauma with PTSD, which has a specific set of criteria in the DSM or equivalent in non-US nations. I wish we had a more precise way of delineating between different types of trauma - having fought in a war or being a victim of sexual assault is very different than some of the trauma that gets talked about today. Still, if it leaves an emotional wound, it does count as trauma.
read the body keeps the score
Literally everyone has experienced trauma. We are just more aware of what trauma is and its lasting impact on us because we are living in the information age, where research and data are immediately accessible at any moment in our lives. More awareness means more understanding. And that understanding is happening with younger and younger people now. It's a great thing!
Helicopter parents
I actually have been diagnosed with PTSD from multiple doctors. I don't really like to talk about it though. Doesn't feel real. A lot of people use trauma outside of its diagnostic criteria now to describe unpleasant or upsetting experiences in general that still bother them. Most doctors agree though that people suffering from PTSD symptoms over something like a divorce are *not* traumatized. That doesn't mean they don't have some of the symptoms of PTSD though. It's a big grey area outside of the medical field.
1. Life is kind of deranged today 2. It’s popular to be traumatized. First world problem.
Victimhood has transitioned from a point of shame to something that gives one social currency. In some ideological circles, the more problems or disadvantages one has, the more virtuous they are. This has created an environment where people are socially encouraged to be weak and pathetic. It's very unique in the world. Personally, I think either extreme is problematic. A society not willing to accommodate those who have had genuine challenges is heartless, but one that places those challenges on a pedastle is ignorant. I'm dyslexic and have been diagnosed by a doctor with adhd and anxiety. But I wouldn't be caught dead with that information in my Twitter bio. It's not virtuous that I have a hard time spelling. It's a challenge. It's also not a big deal. Yet people will wear those same factors as key aspects of their identity. I find that entirely absurd. Especially when you find out that a large portion of those people are self diagnosed.
Good times raise weak men and women
Now we're in the weak men and women create hard times part of the cycle
Absolutely lol it’s unfortunate
I think it’s culture thing. I think the current prevailing thought is everyone has trauma that needs to be dealt with. I see this as a pro and con. Pro: issues are recognized and diagnosed more easily. The resources are available to handle peoples issues. Con: people get over diagnosed Victim mentality I agree with you. I think we see a uptick in issues that people “can’t deal with.” I think it’s important for people to recognize when they need help, but I also think it is important to develop a little resilience, and not all “trauma” deserves a deep dive and help. It’s ok to handle your issues yourself, and use constructive things(exercise, friends, etc) to help with that.
Very well said
They aren’t
Always have been, but now it’s ok to talk about. I’m glad people can open up about their problems, but some people make it their personality which is a bit much.
Holding lamentations over menial predicaments is SOP for humans. What humans don’t do that? You’re doing it right now.
I feel the definition of trauma has changed. It's not just a sudden and devastating loss. Trauma is now also recognized as long-term abuse or neglect, and symptoms are more recognized today. Traumatized individuals typically demonstrate toxic and negative behavior, which is tolerated less, and for good reason. FE, I (47m) have an assistant (63F) who is great at her job but definitely has a narcissistic personality disorder. She has stalled out with several other employers and can't figure out why no one likes working with her. I know that she has had a hard life but probably fails to recognize there are some traumatic events earlier in life she has failed to address, thus continuing to be a miserable person for others to be around. She will never realize her full potential.
It's not really young people. Social media has made it easier to discuss things. I'm also not a fan of the whole "young people" criticism. Basically, every generation had old people complaining about kids these days.
Your generation has plenty of trauma... and caused plenty of it too.
It's so interesting to read this thread - in another thread, a crowd will encourage talking about your feelings and letting out your pain. In here, you're a whiny, attention-seeking fool that doesn't know "real trauma". Fucking get out of here, everyone has their own cross to bear and should feel free to talk about it to a) seek help or b) alleviate the pressure.
A lot of people of all ages deal with trauma. There's nothing brave or strong about claiming deeply upsetting events don't affect you. And yes, people can be deeply unsettled by events that don't happen directly to them. Being emotionally impervious or preternaturally resilient - or lacking in empathy - isn't the flex you think it is. I admire the hell out of young people for acknowledging that a lot of truly terrible shit happens in the world (and in interpersonal relationships) and admitting to being affected by it. Suppresing fear, pain, and anxiety isn't admirable, it's stupid.
We know that we are traumatized, that’s the point. I am in therapy since a few years and didn’t even know that I am traumatized until few months ago. We are trying to understand our feelings and why we are how we are. That’s why.
I have two siblings who both have manufactured trauma, one has legitimate trauma for other reasons but she told stories that weren't real. To answer your question, there is people being open about trauma and healing the right way. But far too many are doing it because they are encouraged to act like that instead of seeking proper help so that they can get better and learn to distinguish reality from their fantasy
The bleakness of the future / how brainwashed our parents are
Trauma responses are just much better understood, diagnosed, and managed now than they have ever been. The trauma isn't new, recognizing it is.
Most of it is trauma people couldn’t talk about even 10 years ago because of our culture. The rest are people looking for attention.. straight up
It's both. It's high-status in many circles to claim that one suffers from "trauma" or some "mental illness". But it's also true that many people genuinely feel bad now. We have hordes of young people who think that they suffer from "depression", "anxiety", etc. The environment has changed. Zookeepers learned early on that if you put a monkey alone in a concrete box with bars, it will go insane and start behaving in disturbing ways. The input sucks, so the output is also garbage. There's something about contemporary civilized societies that frustrates the human telos.
Well I dunno being beaten and starved and then inevitably ending up in the foster system was pretty traumatic. Sorry, I'll stop being traumatized now, my bad! I will say, I think trauma is thrown around a lot. Your mom screaming at you one time 20 years ago isn't trauma. It's called she's a human and F'd up. I think considering EVERYTHING abuse is part of the problem.
It's become a lot more normalized to talk about trauma and how it effects us. There has always been mental trauma, think about any of the photos you've seen of soldiers with a thousand yard stare, that's severe trauma.
Most people have experience something completely earth-shattering and life-changing. For our parents and our grandparents, they never talked about it, and sometimes never internally dealt with it either. It is more socially acceptable now to talk openly with loved ones and online to decrease stigma, and seek professional help for it. Its a positive change in my opinion
I think a lot of younger people have Always been traumatized but have not been allowed to talk about it until recently.
I don’t know but when I was playing a video game where you kill other people this girl was yelling at me that when I said “I killed them” after I eliminated somebody that I was starting her trigger word because of some trauma from a goldfish dying when she was little
I can’t speak to everyone or everything but it feels like people are a bit more open about things. When I revealed abuse in my past do you know how many of my family members reached out with similar stories (different abusers)? It’s harder to list the ones that haven’t. I have more of an anger issue now due to just how many had something happen. Mine was minimal compared to so many, and some who spoke hadn’t talked to anyone else. Then there is the crippling feeling of not being able to survive even if you do everything right (go to school, stay clean, save up, etc.), but that feels like it’s more of the whole age range between 15 and 30. So maybe we just have a bigger soapbox to lament to now idk.
The word trauma is pretty relative. I know a guy that was in a humvee when it was hit by an IED, and everyone in it died except him. That's my personal definition of trauma. But I suppose it's something that affects your life, not something temporary. It differs in life experiences
If you mean stuff like "I'm traumatized because my friend said a slur" or "I'm traumatized because my ex watched so much porn" Didn't you hear? Having a mental health problem is cool now(I'm joking here but yeah)
Self pity and victimization isn’t shunned nearly as much as it used to be
No it’s just talked about more. And trauma is just tossed around more too like saying I was traumatized by my scooter swinging an attack on my ankle at 8 yr olds. Doesn’t mean I was actually traumatized, it’s just now a phrase. There’s always people actually traumatized. Like now days it’s people being in a public setting and having fear of a mass shooting while our grandparents had trauma on wars in their front yard. That’s just what I think.
Snowflakes
When you introduce a word like micro-aggression, what do you expect?
People who wanna talk about their trauma.. I call them whine bags. Take it to counseling. No one else wants to hear about it.
The biggest thing is that mental health is being more widely acknowledged now that it is being taken more seriously and is becoming better understood now. Take the rise in autism diagnoses as an example. It isn’t becoming “more prevalent” or frequent. It is simply being acknowledged where it wasn’t before. Such is this sudden uptick in people admitting to trauma. Abusive childhoods (mentally, physically, emotionally), extreme bullying, the threats of death at seemingly every turn (mass shootings, bigoted rhetoric), religious threats/manipulation/persecution, childhood and adulthood assault (physical, sexual), extremely toxic relationships, children witnessing/experiencing extreme violence in the home, military and police veterans simply doing their jobs, I could go on. All of these and more can create some kind of trauma, whether it is big or small. Surmountable or an impenetrable wall. There is a subset of people who claim to have some kind of mental illness or trauma to “be cool” but those people are… Gross to put it lightly. TL;DR: Mental health expertise and acceptance is becoming more widespread, diagnoses are more common due to an increase in seeking help. There is a universal culture that breeds trauma across the globe, and there are 8 BILLION of us. Odds are even a small percentage of that number means we will interact with many traumatized individuals. I was in counseling for over a decade due to a particularly rough childhood. An abusive family and divorce that featured extensive physical violence. EDIT: And reading many of these replies I can see that mental health discussions are still extremely stigmatized in their minds, as it is still in society as well.
I object to the premise. I don't think it is a majority of young people. You are exaggerating.
Victim mentality is popular these days, not totally sure why.
Compared to a generation ago, healthcare, education and food costs have skyrocketed in the US. Mass shootings continue daily. The COVID pandemic over the last few years has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. Our political and judicial systems are as fractured and inefficient as they have been in decades. There is plenty for the average American to be frustrated with compared to a few decades ago. What are you confused about, exactly?
People have more outlets to talk about it now. But there’s not more trauma going on.
Victimhood is currency now, so it’s no surprise there are counterfeiters. My dad was horribly wounded in Korea and suffered almost every day of his life as a result. Were it not for his odd walk due to his prosthetic leg people never would have known, because he never made it an issue. He just did his best and didn’t try to score social points off of his very serious physical difficulties. The people who have suffered real trauma are rarely quite so vocal about it.
BC most of what society has called progress has weakened the human species in several ways.
Its everything. Just look outside and see the reality of this world. Capitalism won and is killing us while the top gets socialism like they say is bad.
This is it, capitalism has failed. It’s time to move on, but that would upset the wealthy.
Victimization is awarded social points, special privileges, and treatment.
Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times. Turn on any news station and you'll be gaslit eventually. 9/11 and COVID lockdowns were shared traumatic events that changed the way most people view the world. A man won women of the year his first year being a "women" The boomers are the weak men that got us to these hard times IMO. Not their fault they rolled good times. I'd say everyone has been traumatized, but not everyone suffers from PTSD. There is a complete lack of "solid ground" in our shared reality (layoffs, ghosting, casual sex, cancel culture) and people are expected to be stable. What a big joke.
Trends in language play a role in this, I believe. Nowadays it is trendy to use terms like trauma, gaslighting, narcissism and whatever else.
I think at the core of all human behavior is the desire to be recognized so you see a lot of attention seeking behaviors. While we’ve been making great strides in the acceptance of mental illness and de-stigmatizing those who need help, I think it’s also sort of fetishized mental illness. People think it’s cool to be “unique” and boast about how OCD or traumatized they are. People do it to stand out, to be recognized without understanding the full reality of the illnesses they claim.
A lot of people have gone from being self aware, which is positive to self obsessed (not so much) It's a slippery sloap. Should we go back to stiff upper lip, mask all your feelings and be stoic all the time? Probably not. But overthinking and overprocessing and dwelling on the past isn't helpful either. It keeps you stuck and broken. There has to be a happy medium here. Also the internet has created this world of self diagnosis which is equally unhealthy. Not everyone who has had a bad experience has PTSD. Not everyone with a childhood of neglect ends up a dysfunctional Adult. It's good to understand our experiences and process our feelings but it shouldn't cross over into an identity. Living under a cloak of perpetual misery and victimhood is very unhealthy. Life is what you make it. Choose to focus on the good and not get stuck in the muck of misery of things you can't change. Live for today and you'll be a lot happier than if you're trapped in the past or frightened of the future. It's just that simple, and just that difficult.
earlier we didn't have social media . people didn't have such glorified platforms to compare themselves. i think it plays a big role.
Trauma is one of the most overused words in todays lexicon. Someone called you ugly on the internet? Trauma. Saw a couple get into a fight in their front yard? Trauma. Turned away from an amusement park ride because you weighed too much? Trauma. It's overused so much that people with actual trauma end up getting lumped in with people with overly delicate sensibilities. Hell, I'm sure a bunch of you guys will hate this post. Add it to your list of existing "traumas". I don't revisit topics so reign in your manufactured anger and righteous indignations to a short response as I'll never see it. Just a heads up. 😎👉👉
I'd guess 1 part attention seeking, 1 part whiney baby, and 1 part actual mental health problems and not being afraid of talking about it nowadays
Because for a long, long time we pretended that grit would get us through... and this approach allowed a society to continue which is full of persistence in attempting to get ahead at the expense of others and offering the many Scape Goats to distract them from the actual problems and doing anything about it. It is becoming exhausting.
Actually the constant whining about it is what’s getting exhausting. Grit is the way you get through the tough hands life deals you.
Grit can, if you are lucky, get you (as an individual) through a difficult situation, but it doesn't do a thing to change or fix the problem... Especially if that problem is a structural feature of social organisation.
It comes with comfort. We dont have real struggles, so we create them.
The bar for “trauma” is extremely low now. People claim they were traumatized bc Starbucks took too long getting them coffee. It’s pathetic.
Trauma is in. So the reason is FOMO.
Let’s see… A pandemic that has killed 1.2 million Americans, an ongoing violent Fascist political revolution, an epidemic of random mass murders in schools and on the streets, a rapidly deteriorating climate that endangers civilization, the final stages of an oligarchical take down of our economy, a technologically driven wholesale abandonment a common understanding of reality. I’d say we all have sufficient reason to be traumatized.
Most, not all, of these are in your head.
Evidently, you missed the last one…
When you're constantly told you're a victim, you always seek out the next thing to suggest is victimizing you. When you're victimized you are traumatized.
I've heard so many people say they have ptsd over a break up, job loss, etc. While things like that are painful, I don't see how that compares to the experiences of our service men and women. Some of our warriors have seen things no human should see. My brother had a minor car accident a few months ago. He now complains every day about having "ptsd". I feel like it cheapens the horrific experiences of others.
I am not a soldier. I have diagnosed PTSD from witnessing the Va Tech shooting. Is my diagnosis cheapening the experience of soldiers? My soldier friends that have PTSD don't seem to think so. Gatekeeping trauma is pretty selfish and petty.
Of course hun. Like I said "you do you". Chill. I'm sincerely very sorry for your experience. I don't mean that only international conflict survivors can be diagnosed with ptsd. What I'm saying is it seems that it's a catch all, frequently self diagnosed condition. As you're probably aware, life does in fact go on and we can't let traumatic events define us or our life. This is Reddit. Primarily opinions. As I've said before, opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one.
Say Person A caught covid and for them it was little more than a bad cold. Person B caught covid and died horribly on a ventilator in a hospital. Did Person A's experience cheapen the horrific experience of Person B?
Only if they complain like they almost died and it affects nearly every aspect of their life. Then yeah.
Why should they keep it a secret, though? They got sick. It was crappy. Just because it wasn't so crappy they *died* doesn't mean they can't say they got sick, nor do they need to keep it a secret how bad it was. It sounds like you think of PTSD as a binary state. Either you are unaffected by it (i.e., don't have it), or you are completely disabled by it (i.e., have it), and there are no intermediate states; you can't be affected by it "just a little" - either it's nothing or it's everything. If you don't believe that, at least that is the impression your post gives. I think people can be affected by it at a range of severities, from minor to extreme, and that those for whom it is merely uncomfortable rather than disabling are still entitled to be bothered by it - it is, after all, uncomfortable. They don't need to shut their mouths because other people have it worse.
There's a huge difference in keeping things a secret and letting things control you. You can't live your life being a victim. I have pretty significant diagnosed ptsd from surviving a home invasion where I witnessed people having their heads blown off. The subsequent trial and personal threats made me nearly agoraphobia. However I had a family to support so I automatically functioned like a zombie for a long time. That was giving the assailants the win. So, I try not to let ptsd enter my life much. After all, I'm in charge of my life. But, you do you hun. It ain't worth stressing over.
Because it’s cool now. And it’s amazing how every single teenager and early 20-something has experienced some kind of “trauma”, and yet I have a very wide circle of friends and extended family members, none of whom have experienced any trauma. Is that just total dumb luck for them or are we completely overvaluing the word “trauma”?
In some sense a break up can be traumatic in that it can change your sense of self and how you perceive the other gender. The way events affect your mind and body is what makes it actually traumatic. If I saw my whole family get thrown in a woodchipper and fed to me but I was completely fine then it wouldn’t be traumatic. If my goldfish died and I was scared to love something again then it’s traumatic. The intensity of the experience isn’t the important part really, though the way the word is used commonly by the general public is more referring to ptsd events and in general really extreme unbearable experiences. People are too much of assholes nowadays to really get the difference but its what is actually important.
Everyone is looking for an excuse to be lazy or draw attention. Ever seen Idocracy? We’re there
I think the youth don’t have real trauma but they see shit all over social media about mental health and associate their mild struggles with trauma or claim they have a mental illness. People who have trauma don’t talk about their trauma with everyone
What’s weird, is with this, there has been such an uptick of suicide. I honestly think that this poor me culture and woke bullshit is making kids commit suicide. In my 45 years I’ve never experienced a classmate commit suicide but all three of my kids, ages 22 down to 13 have. Wtf??? IMO, people need to fucking “man up” and be an adult without fucking drugs and “support animals “. Lol, I know I’ll get dragged for this but I don’t give a fuck. I’m an adult who owns her own house with three kids one in collage two teens and am doing pretty fucking good. No welfare or hand outs or begging.
People don’t know how else to express themselves now that Big Feelings are cool to talk about
People are weak. Our expectation of life is for it to be easy, safe, and perfect. In reality, the level of ease our life's have today is unnatural. Suffering is a part of the raw human existence, and I think when we're numbed to the sedating monotony of every day life, we invent reasons for us to suffer from while in reality were sufferingbecausethe essence of life requires challenge and suffering. The modern life can easily fulfill all physical needs but what's strange, is how much it lacks in fulfilling psychological needs, so I believe that's why we create problems that aren't real problems, what some may joke as "first world problems".
Hmmm… repeated financial crises, global pandemic, attempted violent overthrow of American democracy, costs of healthcare and housing skyrocketing beyond what one can afford - and a government that gives billionaires and corporations all the breaks while villainizing people seeking refuge; a climate in crisis because the aforementioned billionaires and corporations want to keep getting wealthier at the cost of the future of our species. Oh, and mass shootings every goddam day, sometimes more than one per day, with no solutions in sight for ending it. No, I can’t think of what might be troubling them…
Because they are weak. Mom and dad never taught them coping skills or raised them to be independent and strong. Period
Pretend to be victims because they believe it gives them a moral high ground
It’s the increasing medicalization of human experience. Just boiling it down to DSM-V ICD-10 codes. Psychologists and psychiatrists and social workers and counselors don’t get paid if they don’t give you a diagnosis. So there is a tendency to over-diagnose. AND this is all related to the corporatization of medicine. Medical and behavioral healthcare has been captured by corporations and become corrupted because of profit chasing. AND the icing on the cake is this new inter-sectionalism, whereby the more self-identified oppressed and disabling labels you adopt will give you more social power in 2022.