9781422285756

13

other hand, the acute stress that people feel during a trauma can take a long time to go away. It can have long-term effects on the brain. This is why people who have experienced trauma sometimes re-experience that trauma again and again. What’s Normal, Anyway? Our explanation of the word trauma only raises another question. If trauma is outside of “normal” human experience, then what’s normal? In some instances, this is an easy question to answer. If someone is mugged on the way home from work, that’s not normal. Millions of people travel to and from work every day without getting mugged. But a lot of times, the definition of normal depends on context . Consider our example of the death of a sibling. If someone is 90 years old and her brother is 89, the death of either one is—although still sad—not unexpected. But if someone is 12 years old and her brother is 9, it’s not normal

TYPES OF TRAUMAS

It has been estimated that as many as 50 percent of Americans will experience some form of trauma in their lives. A few types are:

• military combat • a violent crime • a natural disaster • a serious car accident • the sudden death of a close family member or friend