Trauma, Development, and Spirituality

            People suffer trauma when they are exposed to a deeply disturbing or distressing experience.  Traumatic events include natural disasters, terror attacks, domestic abuse, sudden or unnatural deaths, child abuse, sexual abuse, and any other event that goes beyond a person’s natural ability to cope (Heim, Newport, Mletzko, Miller, & Nemeroff, 2008).  Over 800,000 cases of child cruelty, including physical and emotional abuse, are reported in the United States each year, and nearly as many go unreported (Heim, et al., 2008).  Because of their exposure to trauma at such an early age, these children are at a much higher risk of developing depression, anxiety, and other disorders.  Studies examined by Heim et al., (2008) found that in children who are repeatedly exposed to trauma, there is a sensitization of the stress response, as well as the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the brain.   The HPA axis controls the primary neuroendocrine stress response system that helps a person adapt and overcome the stress responses associated with trauma.  Ultimately, this has been found to be a leading cause of depression in adulthood, although it is not considered the only cause (Heim et al., 2008).

            Children exposed to trauma are frequently found as juvenile delinquents in the juvenile justice system, or experience interpersonal problems later in life.  Exposure to parental incarceration, child abuse, exposure to violence and family dysfunction are a few of the traumatic experiences that lead children to committing crimes, substance abuse, and violent behaviors (Evans-Chase, 2014).  Prior to their incarceration, many of these youth are found to be living in poverty, which can itself also be considered a form of trauma.  Poverty has also been shown to be a predictor of school violence and causes of dissociation, a symptom of trauma where an individual mentally removes themselves from an event or memory of an event (Evans-Chase, 2014).  Symptoms such as dissociation, flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive memories, avoidance, and changes in thinking, mood, and emotional reactions are commonly found in trauma survivors (Evans-Chase, 2014).  Individuals can also be exposed to vicarious trauma by hearing about a traumatic event that another person has experienced or witnessed (Evans-Chase, 2014).

            Survivor resilience can be influenced by spiritual meaning associated with trauma.  Individuals who struggle to find good in themselves and others can find healing in a belief in being divinely created by a loving God (Glenn, 2014).  A person’s belief system can play a significant role in how they make sense of the events in their life and their resilience.  Resilience is a person’s ability to adapt and cope in a positive way to stressors in their life.  Finding purpose in life is an important trait of resiliency, and many people often report their faith as being an important factor in their ability to handle stressors (Glenn, 2014).  Religious coping methods have been found to play an integral part in recovery from trauma and coping with other stressors in life.

            Religious and spiritual coping methods can be both helpful and harmful in trauma survivor resilience.  Helpful spiritual coping includes having a support system such as emotional reassurance, guidance, and a close spiritual connection.  Helpful religious coping will include a personal sense of purpose and meaning, a strong sense of God, and a relationship with God and other fellow believers (Glenn, 2014).  Negative religious or spiritual coping includes being angry at God, a belief that God caused or participated in the event, feeling they are being punished by God, or having negative feelings towards their congregations or others who would normally be viewed as a support system (Glenn, 2014).  As children grow into adults, their beliefs about God change.  Having a strong support system and actively seeking a relationship with God, and meaning and purpose in their lives, can have a significant impact on increasing resilience.  Helping professionals can facilitate this change by providing guidance and support to trauma survivors as they travel the road to recovery (Glenn, 2014).

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References

Evans-Chase, M. (2014). Addressing trauma and psychosocial development in juvenile justice-involved youth: A synthesis of the developmental neuroscience juvenile justice and trauma literature. Laws, 3, 744-758. doi:10.3390/laws3040744

Glenn, T. (2014). A bridge over troubled waters: Spirituality and resilience and emerging adult childhood trauma survivors. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 16, 37-50. doi:10.1080/19349637.2014.864543

Heim, C., Newport, D. J., Mletzko, T. , Miller, A. H., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2008). The linkbetween childhood trauma and depression: Insights from HPA axis studies in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33, 693-710.