Theory Of Trauma Theory

The word trauma is said to have originated from the Latin word ‘Trauma’ which is derived from the Greek word ‘Traumatikos’ which means a serious wound to the body. Trauma is referred to as any emotional wound leading to psychologicalinjury or an event that causes great distress. According to American Psychological Association, trauma is referred to as an emotional response to a terrible event. Alameda County Trauma Informed Care, a trauma and mental health care organization in Alameda County, California, refers to trauma from a psychological perspective to describe experiences that are emotionally painful and distressing and that overwhelms an individual’s capacity to cope. Dejonghe, a psychologist and sociologist at the California Polytechnic

Although, its origins can still be traced back to Freud’s psychoanalysis.Rick Curnow Adelaide; a psychoanalyst and training analyst at AustralianPsychoanalytical Society, in a public lecture on ‘Trauma: A Psychoanalytic Perspective’, maintains that the theory of trauma was said to have sprung out of Freud’s Psychoanalysis where he (Freud) believes that “all neurosis was a result of previous traumatic experience” (Rick 2).The term “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” (PTSD) is a concept which is very central to trauma theory; it was coined from Freud’s “traumatic neurosis” by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980. PSTD is one of the world’s deadliest illnesses; it is responsible for the deaths of many and has been the reason why many trauma centers are functionally operating in the West today. In the war infested parts of the world, victims of terror do not suffer terror attack as much as they suffer PSTD that becomes persistent

According to Khan Touseef Osman, in his research article on “Trauma Theory and Its Implications in Humanities and Social Sciences”, he confirms that:
The term “trauma theory” first appears in Cathy Caruth’s Unclaimed Experience. The theory, arguably, stems from her insightful interpretation and elaboration of Freud’s deliberations on traumatic experiences in Beyond the Pleasure Principle and Moses and Monotheism. (Osman 1)
ElissaMarder, a professor of French and comparative literature at Emory University, in her essay Trauma and Literary Studies: Some “Enabling Questions” alsoobserves that’ In the late 20thcentury, Cathy Caruth, a distinguished research professor of comparative literature and English is considered as one of the leading pioneers of trauma theory, she theorized the concept of trauma in the light of literature, that, literary texts are means through which the nature of trauma is revealed by its witnesses. She argues that literature enables us to bear witness to events that can’t be absolutely known and introduces us to experiences that might have otherwise stayed unspoken and unheard. Caruth powerfully and convincingly shows that despite the fact that certain kinds of events can’t be completely understood, these events consequently become significant in diverseways by being expressed to others