Physical illness and injury, accidents and disasters, or falling victim to crime are all traumatic events that can trigger depression. A typical reaction to traumas like these is a sense of shock that distances us from reality. Usually these feelings subside, sometimes in a few hours, sometimes over a few days or even weeks. Some people find that the feelings persist and may develop into a crippling depression.

The Links between Trauma and depression

Traumatic events can strike to the very core of our being. Some involve tangible and obvious losses – of loved ones, valued possessions and security. But these are not the only losses trauma brings. In situations where people have died, guilt can plague survivors, who cannot come to terms with their own escape. In disaster scenarios, people may chastise themselves for not having been able to save others, or for not having foreseen the danger, or for not having been able to do more.
These situations leave people battling emotional storms. People suffer from loss of self-esteem and often also from anger: “Why me?” or “Why not me?” In cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) images and memories of traumatic events are seared into the victim’s brain, to be relived frequently in the days and sometimes years that follow.
Trauma disrupts normal coping mechanisms, plunging some people into helplessness and despair. And, knowing that they are not coping only makes things worse, so the depression that some people experience is hardly surprising.

Transcending Trauma

Many studies of traumatized people, including disaster survivors, crime victims and war veterans, have yielded insights into the condition. Treatment may consist of counselling, drug treatment and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or all three. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) is also effective in PTSD.
Recognizing the problem, and with support from family, friends and health professionals, people can deal with trauma-induced depression and eventually move on.

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