Why Trauma Wounds the Mind: The VitaModo View

Psychological trauma is not only what happened in reality, but also what happened to the person afterward. Dr. Saulitis distinguishes two different things: the external event — and the state of the psyche that remains in the one who lived through it. This very angle — *why* it happens — helps us understand why some people recover while in others the trauma lingers for a long time.

What exactly gets shattered

When a person passes through a severe event — literally and figuratively — "the entire psyche is destroyed." The doctor uses the image of a tornado passing through our psyche: what is left of it, of its capacity to recover — of neuroplasticity? Rape, earthquake, injuries, accidents, the death of loved ones before one's eyes — all of this brings the psyche into a particular state that can become fixed.

Children are especially vulnerable. When a child grows up in an environment where regularly — once a month or more often — there are beatings, drunken episodes, humiliation at home, this "tornado" passes through the psyche again and again. Less and less neuroplasticity remains.

Why trauma becomes chronic

First comes the traumatization. If the trauma is not "healed," it turns into a chronic form. The doctor compares it to a blow: when a sledgehammer hits the head — a stun or concussion — over time it heals. But if the damage is severe or repeated, the consequences may stay for life.

"First comes the traumatization; if we do not heal this trauma, it turns into a chronic form of psychotrauma."

The levels of "wearing down the mind"

The doctor identifies the levels at which traumatization happens:

• By yourself — when a person "wears down their own mind." This is the longest, strongest and most traumatizing level, and people often don't realize it.
• Loved ones — when those around you "wear down your mind" for years and decades.
• Society — the workplace, the public.
• Social events — large-scale upheavals, that "tornado" roaming the planet.

What the "swirling thoughts" do to us

The most insidious mechanism is internal. Thoughts that spin: self-flagellation, guilt, self-humiliation, fears and paranoia about what will happen tomorrow. These "black thoughts" create in the psyche the same destructive scenes as the external tornado. A depressive-paranoid influence does "this" to us from within.

"These thoughts of self-flagellation, of guilt — this depressive-paranoid influence is what does the dark thing to us."

Why knowledge and the method matter

Knowledge gives the ability to build the psyche so that it can withstand such events. Psychiatry as a channel, critical thinking, values — all of this allows decisions grounded in facts and cause-and-effect rather than "emotional-affective delusion." The ability to make a decision is itself a sign of recovery: when the brain restores its function, the person gains the capacity to decide.

Practice: first steps after a severe event

1. Occupy yourself with action right away. If the person is not in a stupor, load them with work immediately — "even a shovel" — just to be busy. Activity, in a sense, switches off the rumination.
2. Don't allow endless reliving and mourning. Not "sitting, sighing, pitying" — instead, return to daily routine and help with practical matters (for example, arranging the rituals after losing a loved one).
3. Restore homeostasis. Sleep and nutrition first: "as the psyche settles, your activity returns." When sleep and food are in order, the energy to make a decision appears.
4. Make any decision. If you can't decide yet — then sleep well, move, live in today and stay loaded with work.
5. With children — your calm comes first. Switch the child to a normal activity first. Talk about the event later, when there is clarity — and only if the adult is calm and balanced, because anxiety is transmitted through the body.