Carr (2009) explains trauma as any situation that all individuals can come across. According to Carr (2009), trauma comes in a wide range of ways for example different types of abuse, neglect, and strong reactions towards any life occurrences. These life situations comprise death of a loved one, or a disaster that occurs naturally such as famine or floods (Carr, 2009). Also, the experience of trauma can be personal or because of seeing a unique event like fatal accident or witnessing death of a fellow human being. As Ungar (2013) notes, the consequences of trauma can last for long periods, and in many cases they are difficult to reverse. The paper analyzes effects of trauma in neural development, the way spiritual development counters its effects, and the prevalence of different kinds of trauma.
According to Ungar (2013), many mental disorders or addiction analysis rises from trauma. Besides, these mental problems influence neurological development. When children grow as they experience trauma, it affects them in their whole life for example failure in academic work. Even though there are arrays of negative consequences of trauma, some researchers have come up with ideas on how to minimize these bad effects (Ungar, 2013). As such, amongst the many approaches of countering the adverse effects of trauma is spiritual development. As Ungar (2013) believes, spiritual development and its application offer hope and an understanding after an individual is exposed to trauma. Consequently, it is often the best way of recovering from the consequences of a traumatic experience.
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Horowitz (2014) believes that childhood trauma refers to any situations which a child considers shocking and feels powerless and hopeless. Also, in such situations children cannot do anything about their lives and safety. Horowitz further indicates that trauma includes many experiences. Such traumatic occasions include; witnessing an abuse or violence, being a victim of an abuse or violence, and having parents involved in divorce with serious conflicts. Other situations that can lead to children having trauma are when a parent is in prison, when a loved one dies, due to natural disasters. On the same note, when children suffer the consequences of parents under addiction of alcohol or drug, they can develop trauma. Horowitz states that the reason behind such a wide variety of potential traumatic occurrences is because various experiences give rise to trauma for different people.
According to Ungar (2013) when children experience trauma they develop an array of difficulties in their behaviors and emotions. Ungar looked into the outcomes of multiple researches and established that there are common disorders associated with trauma. These disorders include major depressive disorder, attention deficiency (hyperactivity disorder), separation anxiety disorder, and oppositional disorder. In children, trauma can look similar to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), and in many occasions it results to it later. Also, studies have indicated that people who experience trauma when they are young can develop alcohol addiction in their future lifestyle (Horowitz, 2014).
According to Carr (2009), stress at an early age relates to lasting rise of cortisol levels, which results to disturbances in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. As such, it can lead to prolonged decrease in inhibition that permits the rise in levels of taking risks. These risks can include high amount of alcohol consumption and the excessive use of illegal drugs. Carr (2009) further notes that several researches have established that the impacts of trauma on neurotransmitters can influence the routes for dopamine. If this happen it leads to high chances of alcohol and drug addiction.
How Trauma relates to Culture
Given types of neglect, abuses, and other types of trauma, in their common form, naturally have the capability to impact all culture to a certain extent (Horowitz, 2014). Consequently, different culture experience trauma in different ways. For instance, natural disasters can cause trauma in some cultures like in New Orleans where Hurricane occur, and in Japan where they experience Tsunami (Ungar, 2013). According to Carr (2009), children who come from cultures that experience war on daily basis have increased chances of undergoing trauma associated with witness of and involvement in violent acts. Also, children who live in poverty have a higher probability of undergoing traumatic events like missing meals, neglect by others, despise, and diseases from improper nutrition.
Spirituality and Trauma
According to Horowitz (2014), spiritual development and its practice helps in the management and coping up with the consequences of trauma. Carr (2009) notes several researches that show how meditation and prayer reduces the level of stress and lead to an increase in the overall health of a person. On the same note, Ungar (2013) establishes that spiritual life which is active relates to increased optimism and acceptance of past occurrences. Ungar states that recovery from trauma involves restoring the link to the society and repair of the lost trust. The community often exists in a church setting and to restore trust there must be a direction used while changing from the past and linking to the divine.
In conclusion, trauma is a shocking occurrence that brings long-term effects on an individual’s development. Trauma exists in many forms depending how an individual views an event. The perception is affected by the details of an occurrence, the culture of people, and their living conditions. The consequences of trauma comprise behavioral and emotional issues, and long-term mental disorders, and the likelihood of drug and alcohol addiction. Spiritual development is one of the ways to recover from trauma. It offers a platform for understanding of the traumatic experience, and gives hope for restoration.
References
Carr, D. (2009). Encyclopedia of the life course and human development . Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.
Horowitz, M. (2014). Effects of Trauma on Sense of Self. Journal of Loss and Trauma , 20 (2), 189-193.
Ungar, M. (2013). Resilience, Trauma, Context, and Culture. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse , 14 (3), 255-266.
