Trauma - The Other Side of D.I.D.

Trauma plays a huge role in the development of many mental disorders. When a young child experiences repeated abuse over a long period of time, it can lead to a life long battle with mental illness. Childhood trauma is very serious and has many negative implications due to the still-developing brain. Repeated sexual or physical abuse often sends the brain into a state that is un-treatable, if the trauma is serious enough. Many victims of trauma often have no memory of the abuse until they begin psychotherapy. Dissociation, which was discussed last week, is the cause of this memory loss; the brain tries to function normally by getting rid of the traumatic memories, which can then re-surface during talk therapy or hypnotherapy. Now, what exactly happens to the brain during/after abuse is still unknown, but there is quite a bit of observatory data that clearly shows that abuse and trauma tie in with mental illness.

Science shows that the severity and frequency of abuse impacts the severity of the mental illness that develops, which makes sense. A child that watches their parents fight and go through a divorce at a young age may experience mild anxiety and depression, and it may only last for a short period of time. Whereas a young toddler that is repeatedly abused will more likely experience severe anxiety, and that may develop anything ranging from P.T.S.D. all the way to a crippling dissociative disorder. The exact mental disorder that is formed is determined by personality, genetics, and circumstances of the abuse. Statistics show that victims of abuse are more prevalent to substance abuse, suicide and anxiety. Two-thirds of people seeking treatment for substance abuse report at least one traumatic event in their lifetime.

Okay, we now know that there is a connection between trauma and psychological disturbance...but why? What causes it? There are several beliefs/possibilities as to how it develops. We know that our brains are very fragile, so it's easy to see that when trauma is experienced, our brain is affected, and often can't cope with what has happened. This is why abuse victims frequently report blackouts, amnesia and dissociation. Fortunately, psychotherapy does a great job of helping victims cope with the trauma, and they can often learn how to live a very fulfilling life once they come to terms with what happened. Unfortunately, many abuse victims feel ashamed of their experiences, and do not report the abuse, causing it to go untreated for a long time.

Why is this? Why do people feel ashamed or judged about something that was not their fault? It goes to show how powerful these traumatic experiences can be. It is important to note that successful treatment begins with reporting abuse and seeking help immediately. There is also a terrible stigma about mental illness, but I want to talk about stigma and awareness in another discussion. The lack of knowledge and dramatization of mental disorders may reflect exactly why there is a controversy/possible stigma surrounding Dissociative Identity Disorder. Without drawing any conclusions, I think that accurately defining and researching the two parts of D.I.D. will allow me to objectively move forward with my research and begin discovering the deeper aspects of D.I.D..