It’s quite normal to need an adjustment period after a relationship ends. The passage of time along with some healthy support from friends and family might do the job. However, there are instances when a past relationship can weigh you down with toxic baggage. In fact, it can result in a version of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Everyone’s life is filled with potentially traumatic events. Some are obvious. Some are insidious. There is no way to know upfront whether or not an experience will result in trauma.

Any time you endure a terrible experience, it has the potential to result in trauma. Each situation is unique and it can be difficult to fully understand your response. It requires time and expertise to discern a potential diagnosis.

Enduring a traumatic experience can leave long-term scars. Unfortunately, one of those scars could relate to feelings of guilt, shame, and self-blame.

The diagnosis of Complex PTSD or C-PTSD has been widely accepted for a long time. Even so, there is some disagreement as to whether it is fully discrete from PTSD.

At some point, everyone will endure a painful event. These episodes have the potential to elicit an emotional response called “trauma.” In the U.S., about seven in 10 people have experienced a traumatic event.

Not long ago, trauma was a mysterious concept. It was not something discussed in casual conversation. For a wide variety of reasons, trauma is no longer taboo. We each understand more about the topic. From sexual assault to battlefield experiences and beyond — more people comprehend the reality of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

All humans endure terrible events at some point in their lives. If those events cause long-lasting damage, they can be traumatic.

Almost everyone is wounded by terrible events in their life. Those unable to fully process such experiences run the risk of being traumatized. Trauma is what happens when you have not worked out your pain and suffering. This can happen at any age but is most common with children.

Make no mistake, letting go of the past is as important a goal as anyone could ever aim for. We all know what it’s like to feel stuck. Who hasn’t been told it’s time to “move on,”? Yet, we hold onto past betrayals, letdowns, embarrassments, and more.

I want to address the trauma that comes from having a long-term illness or injury that causes life-long changes as a source of trauma.

People are talking more and more about trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). You’d think that in an age where most of us can get the food we need, and most of us have adequate (if not luxurious) housing, plus we can get a good education and earn a decent living, that there wouldn’t be much need to talk of trauma. Right?