Trauma

What is trauma?

Trauma refers to the lasting impact of an event, or events, that overwhelmed someone’s ability to cope at the time. It can come from something experienced directly or witnessed happening to someone else. 

What feels traumatic differs from person to person. Two people can go through the same event and be affected very differently, and that doesn’t make either response wrong.

For most people, distress after a traumatic event eases naturally over a few weeks with support and routine. It’s worth speaking to a GP if reactions are still very intense after about a month or are seriously affecting daily life. This is when a GP may consider whether it has developed into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

There are a few related areas of trauma that may also impact individuals:

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) – difficult or harmful experiences during childhood, such as abuse or neglect, which can have a lasting effect into adulthood.

Vicarious or secondary trauma – the impact of repeatedly hearing about or supporting others through traumatic experiences, which can affect carers, professionals and volunteers as well as those who experienced the event directly.

What causes trauma?

Trauma can follow many kinds of experience: a serious accident, violence, abuse, bereavement, a health crisis or witnessing something distressing happen to someone else. 

Repeated or prolonged exposure to difficult experiences, including in childhood or through certain kinds of work, can also contribute. 

It’s not the event itself that determines the impact – it’s how it was experienced and what support was available at the time.

Common experiences of trauma

Emotional and mental

• Shock, disbelief or feeling numb.
• Intrusive thoughts or memories of what happened.
• Guilt, self-blame or sadness.
• Feeling anxious, on edge or easily overwhelmed.

Physical

• Disturbed sleep, or vivid dreams and nightmares.
• Feeling tense, jumpy or easily startled.
• Changes in appetite or energy levels.

Behavioural

• Avoiding people, places or reminders of what happened.
• Withdrawing from friends, family or usual activities.
• Difficulty concentrating or a disrupted daily routine.

What can help after trauma?

If reactions to trauma are persistent or severe, a GP can talk things through and refer you to specialist support. You can also self-refer directly to an NHS talking therapies service without a GP referral.

Talking therapies: approaches such as trauma-focused CBT or EMDR can help process a traumatic memory, usually with a trained therapist rather than alone, since revisiting difficult memories works best with the right pacing and support.

Self-care: small, steady steps can support recovery alongside anything else you’re doing.

• Re-establishing a routine, including regular meals and sleep, which can help a nervous system that’s on high alert to begin to settle.
• Talking to people you trust at your own pace.
• Limiting how much news or social media coverage of the event you take in.
• Avoiding alcohol or drugs as a way of coping, as they tend to make recovery harder in the long run.
• Gentle activity and time in green space. 
• Give yourself time – it can be tempting to push thoughts of the event away, but allowing yourself to think and talk about it, in small amounts and when you feel ready, is usually part of adjusting to what happened, rather than something to avoid altogether.

How we support people who’ve experienced trauma

At Response, we support people with a range of mental health conditions and complex challenges, including previous experiences of serious mental illness and homelessness. We take a trauma-informed approach throughout our services – this means understanding how trauma affects people is built into everything we do, so we can build trust and a genuine sense of safety with the people we support, and make sure our staff are equipped to respond with that in mind.

We offer one-to-one and group support, alongside activities like nature walks, creative arts, and peer-led groups. These help improve mental health, reduce loneliness, and build resilience. By working closely with health and housing teams, we help people feel safe, connected, and ready to rebuild their lives in the community.

The environment around you matters too. We aim to create calm, consistent spaces and take a thoughtful, relationship-based approach, understanding that trauma and difficult past experiences can shape how someone feels and behaves. This is based on the principles of Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE), shaping our physical spaces, how our staff work, and how our services are designed.

Learn more about trauma

• NHS overview of PTSD and support after a traumatic event
• Mind’s information on coping with trauma
• UK Trauma Council – UK charity providing evidence-based information on trauma and its effects