Emotional trauma happens when we become overwhelmed by our circumstances. When this happens our brain produces certain chemicals or hormones ejecting them into our system, shutting down certain parts (memories) and throwing our brain out of sync.
When we are healthy, our synopses fire in a certain rhythm. At rest, it is a slower rhythm. At play it is faster, and when studying hard, with all the synapses firing, it is a faster rhythm. When our brain is in sync it is very efficient and is capable of learning at an incredible rate.
Television, music, stress and trauma can interrupt this natural rhythm. Depending on the trauma, we can go from a loss of words, to a total emotional shutdown.
At the time of this writing, I found only one source, Life Model, categorizing the degrees of trauma. (Life Model is built on the writings of Dr. Alan Shore of UCLA.) Despite the lack of confirmation concerning the degrees of trauma, it is obvious to me there are degrees of trauma. Therefore, I am adopting Life Model’s definitions and repeating them here.
Mild Trauma