The Psychological Effects of Trauma on Behavior
explanatory Essay
590 words
The psychological effects of trauma on behavior and personality are closely related. If a person has a traumatic experience in life, the mind can go through some changes to protect that person from themselves and the scarred memories that they’ve experienced. For example, a child that has been physically abused could develop a disorder that would not allow them to become close to people in general (Joel 1998). The trustworthiness of everyone that the victim came in contact with would be questioned regardless if they deemed people friend, foe, or family. Everyone would be a potential threat and the victim of the physical abuse would rather seclude themselves.
People that have been sexually abused sometimes become a nymphomaniac and have promiscuous sex with random people because that’s what they learned growing up (Lodrick 2007). They exhibit the same qualities of the person that abused them and began a cycle of abuse that could last for generations. An example of said abuse would be like people who inbreed and marry their family members. In their eyes and society, that would be considered natural and right. They would continue to engage in such behavior until they deemed it wrong or want to change the behavior.
Can you change your personality? Or can your personality be changed by circumstances in life or traumatic experiences? The answer to this question is yes. I have a hatred of police till this day because of an experience I encountered with them. At the age of fifteen, I went to jail for writing graffiti on a building. During the time I was locked in the cell, a police officer placed handcuffs on myself and one other inmate that was in the jail cell with me because we were talking loud and he’d had enough.
I informed the off...
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...sity. However, it has become clear over time that the response of an individual to trauma depends not only on stressor characteristics, but also on factors specific to the individual (Sherin 2006).
Works Cited
Kolk, Bessel. "Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body and Society." Google Books. Ed. Alexander McFarlane and Lars Weisaeth. N.p., 2007. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
Lodrick, Zoe. "Psychological Trauma – What Every Trauma Worker Should Know." Http://www.zoelodrick.co.uk/training/article-1. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Paris, Joel. "Does Childhood Trauma Cause Personality Disorders in Adults." March 1998 Vol 43, No 2 In Review. N.p., Mar. 1998. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
Sherin, Jonathan E., and Charles B. Nemeroff. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 02 Mar. 0006. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the psychological effects of trauma on behavior and personality are closely related. a child that has been physically abused could develop a disorder that would not allow them to become close to people in general.
- Explains that people that have been sexually abused become nymphomaniacs and have promiscuous sex with random people because that’s what they learned growing up.
- Explains that they have a hatred of police because of an experience they encountered with them.
- Narrates how the officer handcuffed them behind their back and began doing pushups. he came back in the jail cell furious and started beating them up.
- Describes how they changed their personality from liking and helping to loathing and despising police.
- Explains that post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) is another avenue of perception of how trauma has an effect of changing a person's behavior and personality.
- Describes the contents of kolk's book, "traumatic stress: the effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body and society."
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- The Psychological Damage of Sexual Traumaexplanatory essayApproximately 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (Bull,2001). This figure continues to grow daily as perpetrators of this crime continue in this destructive path. To get a better understanding of what sexual trauma can do to a child the website all about counseling asked us to imagine “ a 6 year old being abused by a family member, say Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe has been very nice to the child up until the other day. He then steps across sexual boundaries, or even becomes physically hurtful to the child. The child may have a hard time holding onto that experience and still function as a young child, playing and enjoying life (www.allaboutcounseling.com).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that sexual trauma and personality: developmental vulnerability and addictive effects.
- Explains that 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in america today.
- Explains that art as an initial approach to the treatment of sexual trauma for creative therapies for sexual abuse survivors bull, r., finkelhor, and browne.
- Opines that trauma of sexual assailt could scar young victims for life.
1283 wordsRead More - Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Adulthoodexplanatory essayMany researchers link behavioral problems in adulthood to childhood abuse. One researcher says that "An adult who was sexually abused as a child has a greater chance of becoming violent, suicidal, and abusive to their children than an adult who was not abused sexually as a child" (Kliest 155). These characteristics could hinder a victim from living a normal lifestyle and having a family. Kliest also states, "Adults who were abused sexually as children will have a greater chance than those who were not of experiencing sexual dysfunction, such as flashbacks, difficulty in arousal, and phobic reactions to sexual intimacy" (156). Many researchers agree that childhood sexual abuse has a negative effect on an adult's personal relationships. Another researcher states, "A history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) appears to have an adverse impact on the quality of adult intimate relationships, and they report avoiding the development of close adult relationships because of their fear of rejection" (Whiffen 1103).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that childhood sexual abuse is a serious issue in today's society, and many people have been victims of it.
- States that research has been conducted on what type of children are the most at risk of being sexually abused.
- Explains that many researchers link behavioral problems in adulthood to childhood abuse, such as sexual dysfunction, flashbacks, difficulty in arousal, and phobic reactions to sexual intimacy.
- Explains that being sexually abused as a child can lead to mental health problems in middle-aged adults.
- Argues that a child who was sexually abused has heightened risk of becming involved with drugs as an adult. suicide is another long-term effect.
- Explains that childhood sexual abuse can ruin an adult's personal and intimate relationships and cause physical problems. parents need to be aware of the signs of child abuse.
- Explains that psychiatric residents' views on their training and experience regarding issues related to child abuse.
- Explains that henderson, c.w., and kandel, minouche, "repressed memories of child abuse may be valid."
- Cites kliest, george a., and mullen, paul e. on the long-term effects of child sexual abuse.
1200 wordsRead More - The Pros And Cons Of Traumatic Eventexplanatory essayPeople can experience traumatic events in many different ways; divorce, war, moving or even rape. A traumatic event is an incident that causes physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological harm (Cafasso, 2016, para. 1). Traumatic events may not particularly happen to you directly but can affect those around you in various ways. From my previous work experience numerous individuals can handle a traumatic event in a healthy manner and others may experience depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and even changes in appetite. Such events can be managed either by seeking out professional or spiritual help. Those who experience traumatic events can be affected in countless ways but have the opportunity to seek out professional help to receive
In this essay, the author
- Explains that people can experience traumatic events in many different ways; divorce, war, moving or even rape. traumatic events cause physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological harm.
- Explains that greg was a social drinker growing up, but he pushed the limit by driving drunk his junior year in college. the drinking escalated as the pressures of the job became more demanding.
- Explains that greg didn't feel that he had a problem drinking alcohol until an unfortunate accident happened to him. the boy died because greg was too drunk to do his job and too weak to handle the pressure.
- Explains that the death of the young boy made greg realize that he needed to seek some help in regards to his alcohol problem. the hardest part for greg in receiving treatment was the time constraint.
- Explains that greg had a difficult time finding someone to provide him with the treatment he needed. the most challenging part for greg is allowing his wife to keep some alcohol in the home since she likes to drink.
- Opines that attempting to quit drinking will be challenging for greg as he would like to keep alcohol in the home for his wife and find a place to go for treatment for alcohol and letting the child die in his care.
- Opines that if greg were a friend of theirs, they would have had him talk to the crisis counselor in his area. the professional will do intake and an assessment to see what the issues are and his history with how the drinking had begun.
- Opines that greg could benefit from attending closed sessions of alcoholics anonymous (aa) where he could discuss his alcohol use with others who have the same issue.
- Explains that greg is an individual who has made poor choices growing up and into adulthood. by seeking professional help in regards to his alcohol addiction and recovering from the feelings of the four-year-old boy passing away, he will be able to live a healthier lifestyle.
1335 wordsRead More - Exposure to Trauma: PTSDanalytical essayBad things happen for everyone. However, describing a psychological or mental health response following exposure to a traumatic event as a single, universal mechanism has turned out to be unachievable goal since there is no single response to it. Moreover, it is apparent that there are individual differences in resilience and risk factors that play a crucial role in response to potentially traumatic event and prevent a description of a response to an event that would affect people uniformly. During the course of a normal life span, most people at different times in their lives are confronted with the adverse events such as the death of a close friend or relative (Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, & Nelson, 1995).
In this essay, the author
- Opines that describing a psychological or mental health response following exposure to traumatic events as one universal mechanism has turned out to be unachievable goal since there is no single response to it.
- Argues that the argument that exposure to traumatic events can always result in mental health problems has become controversial because it stigmatizes those who do not believe they have been affected in an adverse manner.
- Explains that the study of the influence of individual differences on ptsd has helped them understand a word, resilience.
- Explains that posttraumatic stress disorder is followed by a sudden, dangerous, and overwhelming life event.
- Explains that ptsd prevalence may vary according to the diagnostic criteria used to define the disorder, but recent empirical research indicates resilience actually reveals the most frequently observed outcomes.
- Explains that the trauma literature is dominated by studies of ptsd and its treatment, so little was known about the factors that might foster or suppress resilience due to lack of extensive studies on resilience.
- Argues that resilient factors can be considered the converse of risk factors. they observe unique associations between factors and resilient outcomes and various results depending on different settings.
- Explains rutter's argument that resilience is more than just the flip side of risk factors, but rather represents qualities encompassing process and mechanism that confer protection.
- Explains that trauma represents a subjective response to ptes, which is shaped by one's view, perception, or interpretation of the event.
- Describes optimism as the tendency to have positive expectancies about the future. most optimistic individuals attribute negative events to temporary, specific, and external causes. they exhibit lower levels of depressive symptoms and better physical wellbeing.
- Explains that there are possible disadvantages of a generalized expectation tendency of positive outcomes.
- Cites kessler, sonnega, bromet, hughes, m., & nelson, c. b. (2000). diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
- Explains that bonanno, galea, bucciarelli, and vlahov predict psychological resilience after disaster.
- Explains that bonanno, papa, and o'neill, have underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events.
- Explains kilpatrick, resnick, milanak, miller, keyes, k.m., and friedman, m.j.'s findings in the journal of traumatic stress.
- Explains stroebe, w., hansson, r. o. & stronebe. contemporary themes and controversies in bereavement research.
- Cites ozer ej, best sr, lipsey tl, weiss ds, brewin, c. r, andrews, b, & valentine, j. d.
1515 wordsRead More - Adapting Talk Therapy to Counseling Methodsexplanatory essayTurkington, Carol A., and Jill Ilene Granger. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed. Deirdre S. Blanchfield and Jacqueline L. Longe. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2002. 2685-2687. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that some people view counseling as a “cure all” solution to their personal or professional problems, while others see it as pointless. the purpose of this paper is to show how talk therapy may need adapted with different counseling methods with 3 specific diagnoses.
- Explains that talk therapy is an excellent way to get out what you need to talk about to an impartial person who can see where your true problems lie.
- Explains that many people struggle to get through the day to day normality that is life, but there are people who struggle more than the average person with whatever is eating them up mentally.
- Explains that post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) is still in its infancy as it has only been recognized since 1980 and its introduction in the dsm iii.
- Opines that ptsd has been treated in a number of different ways to include medication, talk therapies, relaxation training, breathing techniques, spiritual treatment, and drama therapy.
- Explains that borderline personality disorder is a mental disorder characterized by disturbed and unstable interpersonal relationships and self-image, along with impulsive, reckless, and often-self-destructive behavior.
- Explains that grief is a term used to describe the intense and painful emotions experienced when someone or something is lost. normal grief does not normally require any treatment, but complicated grief may be treated with different types of talk therapy.
- Explains that bolen, rebecca m., "borderline personality disorder." encyclopedia of interpersonal violence. eds. renzetti and edleson.
- Explains friedman, matthew j., md, phd. "ptsd history and overview." 5 february 2014. national center for ptsd.
- Explains grohol, john m., psy.d. and gulli, laith farid, linda hesson, and michael mooney.
- Describes the gale encyclopedia of mental disorders, edited by madeline harris and ellen thackerey.
1074 wordsRead More - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)explanatory essayReyes, G., Elhai, J. D., & Ford, J. D. (2008). The Encyclopedia of Psychological Trauma. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced.
- Explains that ptsd is an illness defined with a collection of symptoms that are comorbid with other disorders.
- Explains that ptsd symptoms can be caused by any stimuli, such as objects, images, or sounds. a clicking of a toy can symbolize an intense feeling of anxiety for the individual.
- Describes the avoidance symptom that causes the individual to change his/her everyday routine to avoid social situations, places, events, or people that provoke the recollection of the trauma.
- Explains that the most effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders is cognitive-behavior therapy (cbt). there are numerous counseling techniques in cognitive behavior therapies that focus on ptsd symptoms.
- Explains that exposure therapy (ex), also known as flooding, is a collective term used to describe prolonged exposure therapies.
- Explains that meichenbaum developed stress inoculation training (sit) as anxiety management training in 1974, but later modified to treat rape survivors.
- Explains that cognitive therapy focuses on the individual's interpretation of events, rather than the event itself, which beck theorize determines the emotional state of an individual after experiencing traumatic stressor.
- Explains that cognitive processing therapy incorporates exposure therapy (ex) as well as cognitive therapy and uses cognitive restructuring. it uses repeated writing about the traumatic event and rereading the narrative.
- Explains that ptsd is comorbid with other disorders such as depression or panic disorders, so it is important to choose the medication based on its effectiveness against the disorder, specific symptoms, or cluster of symptoms.
- Explains that post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that develops from exposure of a traumatic event.
- Explains that post-traumatic stress disorder can develop at any age with any cultural, social, and economic background. ptsd can be caused by witnessing or being part of a traumatic event.
- Explains that exposure to an extreme stressor is not a lone cause to the development of ptsd.
- Explains that resilience is the ability for an individual to cope with the disorder and recover from exposure to traumatic events.
- Explains that hyperarousal symptoms are increases in emotion by the individual. a victim of robbery can develop anxiety disorder and have poor concentration and appetite.
- Explains that group therapy addresses stigmatization of having a disorder, isolation, and alienation that is caused by ptsd.
- Explains that scientists are working on new research methods to develop new treatments and preventive ways for the disorder.
- States foa, keane, friedman, and cohen, j. a. (2000). effective treatments for ptsd: practice guidelines from the international society for traumatic stress studies.
2178 wordsRead More - The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, and The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salingeranalytical essayConner, Michael G. “Coping and Surviving Violent and Traumatic Events.” Crisis Counseling. 24 Aug 2011. Web.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how tragedy at a young age causes many problems as an individual grows up. in sue monk kidd's the secret life of bees and the catcher in the rye, two characters act out and experience these effects.
- Compares the symptoms of depression in holden, from the catcher in the rye, and may boatwright, who lost her twin sister.
- Analyzes how may's sorrows were different from others. she was sensitive and hummed "oh! susanna" every time she felt sad. when she received devastating news, she did not respond like she usually does.
- Analyzes how both characters experienced increased emotional arousal throughout their novels. holden randomly felt melancholy at very little things.
- Explains that the worst effect of a disaster is having suicidal thoughts. holden often says he wants to kill himself. may also had thoughts of suicide.
- Analyzes how may and holden experienced the death of a loved one as teenagers, which negatively affected their lives and caused them to have changes in their usual behavior, episodes of sadness, and suicidal thoughts.
- Explains conner, michael g., "coping and surviving violent and traumatic events." crisis counseling.
- Opines that osofsky, joy d., "parenting after traumatic events: ways to support children." psych central.
912 wordsRead More - Forensic Psychology: Stressful Occupationsexplanatory essayRivers, K. (1993). Traumatic stress: An occupational hazard. Employee Counseling Today, 5(1), 4-6. Retrieved from http://www.touro.edu/library/commerdb/proxyTC.asp?http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1072590&sid=5&Fmt=3&clientId=14844&RQT=309&VName=PQD
In this essay, the author
- Explains that a policeman looks like an exciting job to kids, but they don't think about the scary and stressful aspects of it, which can affect one's physical and psychological wellbeing.
- Explains that cops are often exposed to life-threatening traumatic incidents, which can lead to reactions. most occupations don't cause these.
- Explains that a study compared the occurrence and risk factors of "current probable posttraumatic stress disorder" across different occupations. police are less likely to report symptoms of psychological distress because they don't want to be judged as incapable of performing their job.
- Explains that desensitization to such horrors can only be achieved by experiencing it many, many times. the attack on the world trade center took place in new york.
- Explains that most people don't like the idea of being a security officer that administers capital punishment. interviews were conducted in louisiana with members of the "execution team."
- Explains that there are several parts to the "execution team," each one having its own psychological difficulties. the warden sets the specific time of death.
- Explains that the "strapdown team" is part of the 'execution team', where six officers are in charge of strapping down a body part.
- Explains that being part of the "execution team" changes the officers for life and makes them more serious and responsible about their jobs.
- Opines that being a policeman or part of the law enforcement isn't as glorified as it looks, but they are essential to our survival.
- Explains the psychological experience of security officers who work with executions. the american journal of psychiatry.
- Explains that traumatic stress: an occupational hazard. employee counseling today, 5(1), 4-6.
1084 wordsRead More - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorderexplanatory essaySchiraldi, G. R. (2009). The post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook. (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
In this essay, the author
- Explains post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as 'ptsd', as an anxiety disorder in which a person has in the past experienced stressful events such as war, rape or physical and emotional abuse.
- Explains that ptsd patients must exhibit three types of symptoms: re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance behaviors, and hypervigilance.
- Explains the different types of therapy used to treat ptsd, such as group therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy and guided imagery.
- Explains that ptsd symptoms may last several months to many years. emphasis on safety, support from family and peers, psychotherapy, medication to help with anxiety or depression can all help reduce the symptoms.
- Reports that 7.7 million adults suffer from ptsd, and twice as many women than men are afflicted. studies have shown that children are more prone to develop post-traumatic stress disorder due to their brain not being fully developed.
- Explains that the cognitive-behavioral theory analyzes negative feelings and instructs the individual involved in the event to look at the situation from a different perspective and change their negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
- Explains how group therapy would help irene regain her normal life. guided imagery could help her express her fears and improve her coping skills. exposure therapy exposes her to the same trauma.
- Describes the miami counseling & resource group as a full-service mental health treatment center providing psychological services and therapy to children, teenagers, and adults.
- Describes therapeutic oasis of the palm beaches as an out/inpatient facility with a wide range of programs and resources aimed to help irene with her current situations.
- Describes the psychological services center as a high-quality service that would address and assist irene’s problems.
- Refers to the american psychiatric association's diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: dsm-5.
1602 wordsRead More - Child Sexual Abuse and Resiliencyexplanatory essayUpon completion of the research, it was appalling to find additional side effects of childhood sexual abuse in the form of anxiety, depression, the feeling that they could have prevented the abuse, and thoughts of suicide. Further effects include sexual anxiety and disorders, including too many sexual partners, prostitution, and poor parenting skills later in life. Children may have a difficult time setting safe limits with others (e.g. saying no to people) and relationship problems, poor body image, eating problems, unhealthy behaviors, such as alcohol, drugs, and self-harm. These behaviors are often displayed to try to hide painful emotions related to the abuse go back and make sure this is complete deb! (Child Welfare Information gateway, 2008).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that resiliency is possible with a proper support system of family, friends, and counseling.
- Opines that it was appalling to find additional side effects of childhood sexual abuse such as anxiety, depression, the feeling that they could have prevented the abuse, and thoughts of suicide.
- Explains that ebsco and google's search engines used terms such as "childhood sexual abuse", "effects" and "resiliency".
- Opines that society must take a more aggressive approach to protect children from the horrific violation of sexual abuse.
- Explains that evolution has changed the way society views stigma associated with childhood sexual abuse. resilience is the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and adversity.
- Explains kim m. anderson and catherine hiersteiner examined the recovery stories of twenty-seven sexual abuse survivors in a qualitative study in 2008.
- Explains the purpose of this study was to ascertain the recovery narratives of the twenty-seven involved in the group for the consequences of childhood sexual abuse.
- Cites botash, a., buearu of justice statistis, u. d. and child welfare information gateway.
- Cites the national center for victims of crimes.
- Explains that docherty, d., &. (2003). illness stories: themes emerging through narrative. social work in health care.
- Explains that flinn, s. k., and hiersteiner, c. (2008), "child sexual abuse: an overview".
- Cites masten, a., nietzsche, f. (2001-2011). brainyquote.
- Cites the american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry.
1029 wordsRead More