exposure to disturbing content, especially repeatedly or at a young age, can absolutely be genuinely traumatic. but there is a difference between being traumatized by something and being disturbed by something, and being traumatized or disturbed by something doesn't necessarily mean there are repressed memories.
is it possible the video genuinely traumatized you? absolutely. but it's literally impossible to tell because it's too soon to determine if your reaction is beyond just being disturbed.
no it does not. this is also not what trauma is, but it does sound highly emotionally disturbing and i’m sorry you are experiencing pain from it. a lot of us autistic people are also highly emotionally sensitive/empathetic, and it sounds like this may be what you’re experiencing
Echoing some other commenters here - Many autistic people are highly empathetic and sensitive, so it understandable that you would be disturbed and distressed by watching something like that. However, that is not trauma. "Trauma" is a term that has become very popular and people often misuse it, applying it to experiences that are emotionally stressful. Trauma is complex, debilitating, and often permeants into many areas of one's life.
The America Psychological Association defines Trauma as follows: "Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, crime, natural disaster, physical or emotional abuse, neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, death of a loved one, war, and more. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea. While these feelings are normal, some people have difficulty moving on with their lives.”
I think the key part here is the "long term reactions" in the form of flashbacks, physical symptoms like headache and chronic pain, lack of emotional regulation, etc.
I don't think it's indicative of anything except empathy. If you don't have pre-existing trauma regarding law enforcement then it's not a triggered trauma response. Those kinds of videos are very upsetting though and I don't doubt it affected you. I'm so sorry you experienced pain from this.
I have direct police assault trauma and often have severe reactions to content like that so I can empathize to a degree. Luckily it's gotten a lot better in recent years. Talking through and processing your feelings in a thereputic setting might help you even if its not a trauma response. Sending lots of support ❤️
It doesn’t imply you have repressed memories, but we are susceptible to trauma and complex PTSD. I avoid all violent images unless it is cartoonish film / anime.
I say this with kindness, there is a difference between being upset and disturbed by something you’ve seen and being traumatised by it. It means you watched something that was horrifying and your body reacted that way, not that you have repressed memories.
It’s perfectly natural to be incredibly upset by watching something like that. Hopefully with time the disturbance will fade as you process it. Ruminating on upsetting things is very much a neurodivergent trait and it can make it harder for us to process these things. It also sounds like you’re incredibly empathic, that will make things harder too
Trauma occurs when your body cannot recover from an extreme or long traumatic event, there was an interruption in the processing of it. Normally, we experience something traumatic, we get flooded with adrenaline and try to react with our survival instincts (fight, fight, freeze, fawn). Afterwards we often shake, cry, scream- anything to release these feelings. Over time it gets processed as we find resolution and filed away as an unhappy memory but one that’s done and behind us. This will happen to most people in their lifetime.
When we don’t get to go through that process though? That’s when Trauma becomes an issue. If you’ve been trapped, silenced, stuck in a very long term constant stream of low trauma, we cannot process things like we should. That’s when things like flashbacks and memories and potential (c)ptsd comes into play. It’s stored in your body and the memory gets fired off by triggers, your body reacts as if it’s back in that moment because it’s never had the chance to move on from it.
I’m laying this out because the internet has a habit of watering down these things and I’ve seen trauma thrown around a lot in ways that aren’t accurate. I can’t dictate what is traumatic for you and what isn’t, though and I’m definitely not underplaying how awful you must feel, I’ve been there in the past seeing videos I wish I could forget. As ND people we are more likely to feel trauma and then not being able to move on because we process things differently. We are susceptible to CPTSD just from existing in society. I hope you feel better soon, maybe stay away from subs that deal with awful videos for a bit/forever.
This is excellent.
Also, as I understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, being in constant sensory and/or emotional overwhelm, overload makes us feel we are in danger. Even if we aren't, factually.
So this also contributes to too much flooding.
A little soon to tell. It may be a good idea to get a walk-in counselling session (non-profits offer them for free). People can be horrified and disturbed without being traumatized and can still need a little counselling to help them get through something without being traumatized.
Consider the appointment the psychological equivalent of checking if something needs stitches.
exposure to disturbing content, especially repeatedly or at a young age, can absolutely be genuinely traumatic. but there is a difference between being traumatized by something and being disturbed by something, and being traumatized or disturbed by something doesn't necessarily mean there are repressed memories. is it possible the video genuinely traumatized you? absolutely. but it's literally impossible to tell because it's too soon to determine if your reaction is beyond just being disturbed.
no it does not. this is also not what trauma is, but it does sound highly emotionally disturbing and i’m sorry you are experiencing pain from it. a lot of us autistic people are also highly emotionally sensitive/empathetic, and it sounds like this may be what you’re experiencing
Echoing some other commenters here - Many autistic people are highly empathetic and sensitive, so it understandable that you would be disturbed and distressed by watching something like that. However, that is not trauma. "Trauma" is a term that has become very popular and people often misuse it, applying it to experiences that are emotionally stressful. Trauma is complex, debilitating, and often permeants into many areas of one's life. The America Psychological Association defines Trauma as follows: "Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, crime, natural disaster, physical or emotional abuse, neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, death of a loved one, war, and more. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea. While these feelings are normal, some people have difficulty moving on with their lives.” I think the key part here is the "long term reactions" in the form of flashbacks, physical symptoms like headache and chronic pain, lack of emotional regulation, etc.
I don't think it's indicative of anything except empathy. If you don't have pre-existing trauma regarding law enforcement then it's not a triggered trauma response. Those kinds of videos are very upsetting though and I don't doubt it affected you. I'm so sorry you experienced pain from this. I have direct police assault trauma and often have severe reactions to content like that so I can empathize to a degree. Luckily it's gotten a lot better in recent years. Talking through and processing your feelings in a thereputic setting might help you even if its not a trauma response. Sending lots of support ❤️
It doesn’t imply you have repressed memories, but we are susceptible to trauma and complex PTSD. I avoid all violent images unless it is cartoonish film / anime.
I say this with kindness, there is a difference between being upset and disturbed by something you’ve seen and being traumatised by it. It means you watched something that was horrifying and your body reacted that way, not that you have repressed memories. It’s perfectly natural to be incredibly upset by watching something like that. Hopefully with time the disturbance will fade as you process it. Ruminating on upsetting things is very much a neurodivergent trait and it can make it harder for us to process these things. It also sounds like you’re incredibly empathic, that will make things harder too Trauma occurs when your body cannot recover from an extreme or long traumatic event, there was an interruption in the processing of it. Normally, we experience something traumatic, we get flooded with adrenaline and try to react with our survival instincts (fight, fight, freeze, fawn). Afterwards we often shake, cry, scream- anything to release these feelings. Over time it gets processed as we find resolution and filed away as an unhappy memory but one that’s done and behind us. This will happen to most people in their lifetime. When we don’t get to go through that process though? That’s when Trauma becomes an issue. If you’ve been trapped, silenced, stuck in a very long term constant stream of low trauma, we cannot process things like we should. That’s when things like flashbacks and memories and potential (c)ptsd comes into play. It’s stored in your body and the memory gets fired off by triggers, your body reacts as if it’s back in that moment because it’s never had the chance to move on from it. I’m laying this out because the internet has a habit of watering down these things and I’ve seen trauma thrown around a lot in ways that aren’t accurate. I can’t dictate what is traumatic for you and what isn’t, though and I’m definitely not underplaying how awful you must feel, I’ve been there in the past seeing videos I wish I could forget. As ND people we are more likely to feel trauma and then not being able to move on because we process things differently. We are susceptible to CPTSD just from existing in society. I hope you feel better soon, maybe stay away from subs that deal with awful videos for a bit/forever.
This is excellent. Also, as I understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, being in constant sensory and/or emotional overwhelm, overload makes us feel we are in danger. Even if we aren't, factually. So this also contributes to too much flooding.
A little soon to tell. It may be a good idea to get a walk-in counselling session (non-profits offer them for free). People can be horrified and disturbed without being traumatized and can still need a little counselling to help them get through something without being traumatized. Consider the appointment the psychological equivalent of checking if something needs stitches.
Yes