ABSTRACT
Trauma is a part of life and to a greater or lesser extent we will all be traumatised at some point in our lives. Birth is probably the first trauma we experience. Whether we are children or adults, traumatic experiences take many forms from car crashes to abuse of all kinds, bullying to torture. All experiences of trauma are marked to a greater or lesser degree by an increase and decrease in our levels of arousal. With more extreme or persistent experiences, or where the presenting trauma ‘taps into’ an archaic trauma, there is a very different picture. The sufferer of a traumatic reaction may present with a picture of hypo-arousal with depressive symptoms such as poverty of thought, disconnection, flat affect and desensitisation. The legacy of trauma that can impact all levels of functioning is discussed eloquently and contributions to our understanding continue to be offered through ongoing discoveries in neuroscience.
