OVERCOME
Although trauma impacts every area of an individual’s life, there are steps that one can take to help with recovery.
BY ELLA DE YOUNG & KATHERINE SHOPPA
“SEEING THEM AT SCHOOL WALKING THROUGH THE HALLWAY BRINGS A NAUSEATING BLUR OF PANIC. YOUR HEART RACES, YOUR EARS RING, AND YOUR HANDS SHAKE.”
S
eeing them at school walking through the hallway brings a nauseating blur of panic. Your heart races, your ears ring and your hands shake. You anxiously sweat and want to crawl out of your skin. Nothing seems real around you, and you feel disconnected from your body as your mind tries to pull together coherent thoughts. Trauma is a black cloud hovering above you, waiting to strike down at any time. It is
18 OPINION
MAY 24 2022
a ticking time bomb of built-up anxiety that will be released by a trigger. It is an empty room with the walls closing in on you. You may wonder, ‘Why? Why do I have to deal with this? What did I do to deserve this?’ However, the fact of the matter is you did nothing wrong, and although having to deal with it feels unfair at times, you must know it is not your fault. A traumatic experience can happen to anyone at any time. According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is defined
as an emotional reaction to a horrible event such as a rape or a car accident. About 70% of the population will experience a traumatic event in their lifetime with a small portion — 6% of the population — developing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. There are four main categories of PTSD symptoms — intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and shifts in physical and emotional reactions. Some indications of PTSD include nightmares, flashbacks, staying away from triggering places, outbursts, trouble sleeping, being startled easily and thinking about the event itself. Many people who have gone through a traumatic event will initially experience a few of the symptoms, but they won’t be the same for everyone. Trauma doesn’t have a defined appearance; it impacts people of all races, genders, ages and backgrounds differently. We have both faced trauma in our seventeen years and still suffer from intense fear and stress due to it. Our traumas are different, but they both occurred unexpectedly at the hands of people whom we trusted. Flashbacks and intrusive thoughts ooze into our everyday lives. It is frustrating to cope with trauma caused by someone else’s actions. It feels utterly out of your control. Phrases, people and places can cause memories to hit you like a ton of bricks, making it hard to function. It is challenging to focus on schoolwork in and out of the classroom as we feel constantly on edge and get sidetracked with thoughts of the past events which have traumatized us. We struggle to keep up with the pressures of school, extracurriculars and relationships. The people who were the specific causes of our traumas have tainted the school environment for us with their presence. With a possible trigger around the corner, school days feel long and hopeless. Many teachers do not understand, and we do not feel comfortable enough to fill them in on such events. Teachers should respect what students need and feel comfortable sharing, but they shouldn’t disregard that their students might not be okay. They should make a point to truly ask how each of their students is doing and make themselves open to whatever response comes their way. When students aren’t turning in their work on time or don’t seem to be giv-
