Trauma can have a profound and long-lasting impact on every facet of a person’s life.
It can cause problems with relationships, employment, and physical and mental health. In addition, trauma can lead to substance abuse, self-harm, and even suicide. Understanding the types of and impact of trauma is essential for optimal living. Trauma does not discriminate; it can happen to anyone at any time.
Despite popular belief, optimal living does not mean existing in a state of perfect happiness or health.
Rather, it is a process of continually making choices that allow us to experience the best possible life given our individual circumstances. This process is particularly challenging when someone has experienced chronic or complex trauma. Optimal living often requires us to confront difficult challenges, to possess a certain level of determination to move forward and through difficulty. Trauma can have a devastating effect on our mental and emotional well-being, as well as our physical health because it creates trauma-responsive neuropathways, habituated behaviors, a belief system that actually can interfere or inhibit movement forward or through the difficulties themselves, or the memory of those difficulties.
-
Learn more about trauma and it’s impact on living an optimal life.
Written by Robert Rhoton Psy D., LPC, D.A.A.E.T.S.
Dr. Robert Rhoton, CEO of Arizona Trauma Institute and President of the Trauma Institute International possesses a rich history of experience in the mental health field.
