May is Mental Health Month, and one of the focuses of Mental Health Month this year is addressing the effects of trauma on individuals and communities. Through the mental health programs at FIRM, because of our core population of refugees, we deal with individuals affected by trauma every day. However, trauma affects many more people than those who have been through war. Traumatizing events also include interpersonal violence such as abuse and bullying; social violence such as terrorism; natural disasters and accidents; serving in combat; stressors such as poverty and humiliation; and childhood trauma, which includes physical, emotional and sexual abuse and difficult family relationships.
Trauma takes a huge toll on lives and health. Did you know that trauma is the leading cause of the death of children in this country? Or that the effect of trauma on productive life years lost exceeds that of any other disease? The economic cost of 50 million injuries in the year 2000, alone, was $406 billion. This includes estimates of $80 billion in medical care costs, and $326 billion in productivity losses. And the predicted cost to the health care system from interpersonal violence and abuse ranges between $333 billion and $750 billion annually, or nearly 17 to 37.5 percent of total health care expenditures.
When children or adults respond to traumas with fear, horror and/or helplessness, the extreme stress is toxic to their brains and bodies, and overwhelms their ability to cope. While many people who experience a traumatic event are able to move on with their lives without lasting negative effects, others may have more difficulty managing their responses to trauma. Unresolved trauma can manifest in many ways, including anxiety disorders, panic attacks, intrusive memories (flashbacks), obsessive/compulsive behaviors, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, addictions, self-injury and a variety of physical symptoms. Trauma increases health risk behaviors such as overeating, smoking, drinking and risky sex. Trauma survivors can become perpetrators themselves. Unaddressed trauma can significantly increase the risk of mental and substance use disorders, suicide, chronic physical ailments, as well as premature death.
Until recently, trauma survivors were largely unrecognized by the formal treatment system. Inadvertently, treatment systems may have frequently re-traumatized individuals and failed to understand the impact of traumatic experiences on general and mental health. Today, the causes of trauma—sexual abuse, violence in families and neighborhoods, and the impact of war, for example—are matters of public concern.
A movement for trauma-informed care has emerged to ensure that trauma is recognized and treated and that survivors are not re-victimized when they seek care. It is critical that these efforts be strengthened and we heal the invisible wounds of trauma. They are crucial to promoting the healthy development of children and healthy behaviors in families, schools and communities that reduce the likelihood of trauma.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of trauma, call FIRM at 487-1500 and ask to speak to one of our mental health staff. There is help and there is hope.