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RE: The Origin of Psychological Trauma

in #psychology7 years ago

A lot of people who survived the Great Depression were traumatized, they just have different ways of showing it. My grandmother never throws anything away that she perceives as useful. She justifies saving gum wrappers to use as scrap paper the way I glorify my kitchen drawer of extra fast food condiments (I grew up without a lot of money). We excuse it as having a "waste not, want not" attitude, but it's really grounded in trauma. The reason they didn't "go on about it" was because of the stigma associated with mental health.

My grandfather served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and he never once went to therapy for PTSD. That doesn't mean he wasn't affected by it--I know from his candid veteran-to-veteran talks with me that he was. For most traumatized people in earlier generations, the mental health system was worse than what ailed them, so they kept their struggles to themselves. No one wanted to be institutionalized.

Some of what you discuss here is reminiscent of cognitive processing therapy. Are you familiar with that course of treatment for trauma survivors?

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Excellent point about the mental stigma and not wanting to be institutionalized. People were also tougher back then, meaning they dealt with things in a way most didn't see there was a problem, and today people cry the same think about because they don't have to deal with much. Teacup generation. Need safe spaces.

I am not aware actually. I consider modern psychotherapy pretty much useless. Indeed, people in the past used to learn how to deal with their own problems. Today most people got spoiled and are getting dependent on some kind of "Free ride". they don't want to go through the processes of "toughening" themselves.