YOU HAD TO FIND WAYS TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULTIES ALONE LONG BEFORE YOU WERE READY TO DO SO.
Hello!
The test you answered is an indicator of your level of trauma and the impact it may have on your life. Your results suggest that you have severe symptoms of psychological trauma. This means you have faced major challenges in several areas of life and need help working through unresolved traumas.
Your answers to the test demonstrate that you did not have adequate or sufficient emotional support to overcome the potentially traumatic experiences you lived. They also show that it is likely that you have suffered different forms of abuse or neglect throughout your childhood or adolescence. Faced with a scenario of possible lack of affection, support, protection, understanding and acceptance from those who cared for you in the most critical periods of your development, you needed to find ways to deal with difficulties alone long before you were ready to do so. Thus, the coping and self-protection strategies you created early on, without the support of a welcoming adult, certainly helped you survive the moments of helplessness you faced. But they are unlikely to be healthy and effective at this stage of your life, and they seem to take a heavy toll on your emotional balance, well-being and relationships.
Pathogenic agents
Several factors may have contributed to you developing serious symptoms of trauma – these are called pathogenic agents. Just like the body becoming ill due to genetic inheritance, and exposure to viruses, bacteria, pollutants and other toxic substances, life experiences can also contain toxic agents that are highly harmful to our mental health. In other words, the pathogenic agents present in our life history contribute to the emergence or worsening of psychological problems. Among them, we can highlight chronic stress in childhood or adolescence, potentially traumatic adverse events, chemical changes in the brain, and substance abuse, among many others that can trigger or increase the risk of a lasting imbalance in our nervous system and generate intense mental suffering.
The impacts of these pathogenic agents are influenced by the environment (especially by our closest relationships), our genetic inheritance, and our socioeconomic, emotional and behavioural characteristics.
Protective factors
However, just as pathogenic agents threaten our cognitive and emotional development + our physical and mental health, there are protective agents - they are those factors that function as a kind of counterweight or buffer against possible damage caused by potentially traumatic events. Among them, we can highlight a safe and stable family environment, a good social support network, financial conditions that allow access to information, mental health services and appropriate treatments,
genetic inheritance (which can either favour or disadvantage us from birth, depending on inherited susceptibilities and sensitivities), and individual resilience (which, in turn, depends on protective factors to develop).
CERTAIN LIFE EXPERIENCES CAN ALSO HAVE TOXIC AGENTS THAT ARE HIGLY HARMFUL TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH.
The root of all traumas
As you can see, understanding the role of the complex interplay between pathogens and protective agents that are at the root of all types of trauma is the first step in making an accurate diagnosis of the various forms of mental suffering. Only from this understanding can we collectively prevent trauma,
make the world a safer and more welcoming place, and improve the mental health and well-being of us all.
PREVENTING TRAUMA MEANS TO MAKE THE WORLD A SAFER AND MORE ACCEPTING PLACE, STARTING WITHIN OUR OWN HOMES.
YOUR FULL REPORT?
YES!
This is a generic report prepared from your test results. Would you like to know exactly how you scored in each category assessed, and how the signs of trauma affect your life? We will be happy to prepare a detailed individual report. Please complete this form to make your request.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Do you want to know about the types of trauma and their life-long consequences? About trauma prevention, dysfunctional families and abusive relationships? And what is the role of society in causing and preventing trauma? Discover our online courses, workshops and lectures at our services page.
