#yeah!! yeah.

[sofhtie]

thinkin about. how unity clerics are the bards of clerics

[mostloquacious-archive]

some things to keep in mind when writing characters who have experienced trauma:

there are measurable changes / stunts in brain development in people who have experienced trauma, specifically in social-emotional and cognitive development.

this is why people who have experienced trauma might act “immature” for their age and have poor coping skills—their brain growth is often “stunted” at whatever age they experienced trauma.

for example, a person who is 30-years-old who experienced trauma when they were 16-years-old might have the social-emotional capacity and the cognitive ability of a 16-year-old.

what does that mean for a character who has experienced trauma??:

their ability to cope with emotions might not be on par with their age.

they might be okay for a while and suddenly fly off the handle for no evident reason ( but in reality, a trigger was present or they’ve let things build up over time until it all spills over ). or they might be consistently angry / sad / skittish / etc.

they might have a difficult time identifying their emotions.

many people who experience trauma have a difficult time with being “okay” because they’re used to being either very elevated or very low. they might go out of their way to create “drama” because they’re uncomfortable with being comfortable.

they might be impulsive and hyper-vigilant. 

SUBSTANCE ABUSE!! many folks who experience trauma cope with their trauma through substance abuse.

some common mental health diagnoses associated with trauma:

post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder.

mood disorders ( depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorders ).

borderline personality disorder ( bpd is often associated with “attachment trauma” meaning that there was some sort of trauma associated with an individual they were attached too, such as a parent or another loved one ).

psychotic disorders ( schizophrenia, delusional disorder, etc ).

dissociative disorders ( dissociative amnesia, DID, etc ).

in children, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder ( if not treated as a child, it might present as anti-social personality disorder as an adult ), and intermittent explosive disorder.

substance abuse disorders.

many ( not all ) mental health diagnoses can be traced back to experiencing some sort of trauma.

your character’s diagnosis will affect how they cope with trauma ( e.g. an individual with bpd presents differently than an individual with ptsd, people with multiple diagnoses will present differently ).

everyone experiences and reacts to trauma differently. two people who experience the same trauma might have two completely different reactions to that trauma. factors such as personality, gender, age, presence of other mental health concerns, and support from family, peers, and mental health professionals greatly affect how people react to trauma.

do your research and happy writing!!

[furrypercapita]

all right, prayer circle, time for an hour and a half of things i don't fuckin care about [crosses self, opens gaim ep 32]