The word Trauma

Ima just say it: it’s overused. (It exists in a long list of psychological terms that get misused.)

While I can appreciate the need for people to find language that captures their experiences, I think that using the word “trauma” for everything uncomfortable or unpleasant anymore has done a real disservice to the entire field. And especially to those who have experienced truly traumatic things.

The newest domain of misuse I encounter is “religious trauma”— which is a real and horrific thing. But you can’t tell me that someone who was groomed and abused by their pastor is trauma on the same level as parents making their kids go to youth group or attend family prayer when they didn’t want to. Just no.

Not really interested in claims about how subjective trauma is either because we are supposed to be a scientific field and utilize evidence based methods of studying and conceptualizing.

I don’t obviously argue this point with my clients, I usually express curiosity about their meaning of the terms they use, but don’t find it relevant to correct them most of the time.

This is just my private rant against culture and how we are fostering a dilution of important terms.