Introduction
There is a complicated relationship between the traumatic experiences of an individual and their personality development. Trauma is the effect of enduring extreme stress or being the victim of violence. It can cause psychological disruption and result in clinical or borderline disorders, neuroses, and psychosomatic diseases. Therefore, traumas have a significant impact on people’s psychological health.
There has already been an investigation on how traumas cause personality changes. Berman (2016) suggests that the relationship between traumas and identity is complex. Traumatic experiences can alter a person’s sense of identity, whereas identity can affect an individual’s perception of traumatic situations (Berman, 2016, p. 1). It is also crucial to note that everyone develops their distinct personality traits, values, and beliefs. Therefore, different people may be affected differently by the same incident. When a group of people is attacked, some individuals may get traumatized to develop PTSD; others might perceive the shooting as stress and recover quickly because their resources are sufficient to restore their mental health. As a result, the consequences of trauma are determined by a person’s personality, while a person’s identity might shift in response to the severity of trauma.
It is crucial to thoroughly study the connection between trauma and identity, given that trauma may negatively influence an individual’s physical and mental health. The study by Hampson et al. (2016) found that childhood traumas may determine a person’s conduct patterns and health-damaging habits (p. 9). This research paper will further explore the link between trauma and identity and the findings will assist in reducing the severity of trauma. It will be based on the hypothesis that trauma has a detrimental impact on a person’s identity and is likely to result in adverse consequences in the future.
References
Berman, S. L. (2016). Identity and trauma.Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment, 5(2).
Hampson, S. E., Edmonds, G. W., Goldberg, L. R., Barckley, M., Klest, B., Dubanoski, J. P., & Hillier, T. A. (2016). Lifetime trauma, personality traits, and health: A pathway to midlife health status. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 8(4), 447–454. doi:10.1037/tra0000137