If you expose yourself indirectly to a traumatic event for long, you can also suffer from trauma. Secondary trauma (ST), also known as vicarious trauma, is a type of condition you can develop when you hear traumatic stories or consistently want to help traumatized people. The ideal way to help a loved one undergoing trauma is to seek professional help through a rehab center like Foothills at Red Oak Recovery, where you can access trauma treatment programs. To learn more about our adolescent boys’ treatment program, reach out to us today at 866.300.5275.
Understanding Secondary Trauma
Some people often hear horror stories, which can sometimes be overwhelming. Such individuals may start to display symptoms similar to what the traumatized narrator felt.
Vicarious trauma can easily make helpers shift their views by altering their opinions, beliefs, and understanding of the world. The situation often occurs when you are helping abused children or dealing with trauma in teens.
People at Risk of Vicarious Trauma
Professionals whose work entails maintaining close contact with people dealing with severe pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at higher risk of vicarious trauma. Other people who are more likely to suffer from this kind of trauma care for or assist trauma survivors.
In the case of teens, the teenager may have experienced secondary trauma from their sibling or parent. They may also have a close friend who experienced a major trauma.
The Symptoms of Secondary Trauma
People respond to traumatic events in different ways. Vicarious trauma can have a more severe effect on some people than on others. Moreover, the number of symptoms that manifest in people with the condition varies from person to person. The symptoms can be behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and physiological.
Vicarious trauma can make you change your normal behaviors. For example, you might start abusing drugs or alcohol. It is also possible to isolate yourself and change your sleeping and eating patterns. Some individuals even begin engaging in risky behavior.
Trauma can cause some people to keep themselves busy in an attempt to forget the horror stories they heard, or they may try too hard to help the trauma survivor. Such individuals find it hard to separate personal life and professional duties, taking on more workload than necessary.
You can begin feeling unsafe or unsure of whom to trust when you expose yourself indirectly to a trauma survivor. Some emotional warning symptoms of vicarious trauma include severe sadness, irritability, panic attacks, depression, and anxiety. In most cases, dealing with trauma in teens can drain you emotionally.
Mental symptoms of trauma include the inability to concentrate, inability to make decisions or resolve daily life matters, and memory lapses.
The nonphysical signs of trauma include a decline in your sense of purpose and loss of hope. The condition can disconnect you from the world, and you may even begin to feel like you do not deserve love or are unworthy.
Seek Professional Help for Trauma at Rehab
If you or your loved ones struggle with this mental condition, trauma-informed care can help address the situation. At rehab, the specialists offer customized treatment plans comprising of several therapy programs, such as:
- Trauma therapy
- Family therapy
- Adventure therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
Contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery to Start Treatment
Do not let secondary trauma overwhelm you or cause negative repercussions in your family. When left untreated, the condition can deteriorate into a depressive disorder, posing more severe consequences. At rehab, you can access customized treatment programs aimed at offering a permanent solution. Contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery today at 866.300.5275 for more details on trauma treatment.