What Is Medical Trauma?

• Medical trauma is a form of trauma that can develop secondary to physical or emotionally painful, difficult, frightening, and/or traumatic experiences as they relate to our health, healthcare settings, or experiences within the healthcare system as a whole.

• It may not present itself immediately after a traumatic event, and instead may gradually present itself, or perhaps worsen with cumulative or repeated negative experiences.

• Medical trauma comes in all shapes and sizes, so what is considered traumatic for one individual may not be traumatic for someone else in our community.

• It is important to remember that we are all different, respond to stressors and triggers differently, and also come from different backgrounds, so there can be a significant amount of variation.

• Medical trauma may lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but an evaluation and proper assessment/diagnosis will need to be made by a mental health professional.

• Some in our community may have experienced other forms of trauma, such as childhood trauma, so the addition of medical trauma can lead some to navigate diagnoses such as complex PTSD (CPTSD) which can stem from experiencing long-term and/or repeated trauma.