Psychic trauma
A situation that is perceived as overwhelmingly dangerous may result in the mental experience we call trauma. Psychic trauma is a fact when the individual feels overwhelmed and helpless and cannot use his or her mental capacities or any physical means to escape or master his or her reactions.
When other humans causes trauma, the individual may feel betrayed and isolated in the face of danger. Physical abuse and maltreatment are often used, but do not necessarily have to be present. People react differently and are more or less vulnerable to a traumatic situation because of disposition (genetics), earlier trauma, personality factors, context factors (e.g., an aggressive environment ) and the strength and danger of the external agent. For one person, what seems like a minor incident may cause psychic trauma. Some situations regularly cause psychic trauma, typically torture and living under severe degrading conditions such as concentration camps.
Immediate and short-term responses include three dimensions:
Observable: agitation, stupor, conversion symptoms
Emotional/cognitive: anxiety, panic, numbing confusion
Mental processes: defences such as dissociation
For the external observer it is often only possible to diagnose a trauma after the event when signs of a post-traumatic condition (acute or chronic) become apparent. For the affected individual, the traumatic situation is experienced as terrifying helplessness. Different levels of overwhelming anxiety characterise the experience and post-traumatic conditions are characterised by mental measures taken to defend against re-experiencing these anxieties.