What is Trauma?
Trauma refers to an event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope, not just in the moment (that’s a crisis), but also across time, typically months. Trauma has a unique combination of being overwhelming, negative, and threatening (or actually harming) all at the same time, with the distinct potential for negative outcomes. Commonly understood examples of trauma include things like the unexpected and sudden death of a loved one, sexual assault, being victimized by violent crime, a serious car accident with long-term injuries. But trauma is also individually defined and experienced–what may be a sad and negative but manageable experience for one person may represent a trauma for a different person. For example, a friend may share with you, “My dog died. I had him for most of my life; I’m very sad.” Another friend may share, “My dog died. She was my guide dog, and I depended on her and trusted her with my life every day. She saved my life by getting between me and an oncoming car.” The first is a very sad event; the second is, in almost all likelihood, a traumatic event.
How Does Trauma Impact Learning?
In brief, trauma interferes with learning by occupying one’s mind with too much information, and specifically, too much negative information. Trauma can literally disrupt the functioning of brain structures enough to prevent a person from being able to pay attention, organize information, create strong memories for the information, or recall information that was carefully studied. Trauma can really make learning difficult, and can make a person feel as if they are “losing it” or “going crazy.” That’s not the case, but traumatic stress can mean that it’s time to reach out for additional supports in order to pick back up with one’s responsibilities, like being a student, going to class, completing and submitting assignments and completing exams. Trauma, while not an excuse to “blow off” one’s responsibilities, can mean requiring a little extra time or support in order to get things done. It pays to ask for help, and to make a workable plan.