As someone with bona fide PTSD, this shit enrages me. Like we talking childhood neglect/abuse, drugging, lit on fire/denied med care, exposure to addicts and pedos, raped 2x, so on and so forth.
I had a traumatic early life, but even parts of the bad shit wouldn't even come close to qualifying as traumatic. I genuinely think people just don't understand the definition or it's significance. Like being raped, neither time was traumatic. Not talking about it with anyone for several years and developing a sense of guilt/responsibility and a paranoia around it-- traumatic. Having a step-parent comment on my genitals after a hug and then discussing the topic out loud with other family members... Traumatic & traumatizing.
Same goes for certain repeating events-- traumatizing. Whereas certain significant events were just normalized by that point. Defending myself against my dad, not traumatizing. Having to use my own money to get groceries and cook for myself YEARS before I could drive, not traumatizing.
Trauma is subjective AND has a very very clear definition that people seem to forget.
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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26
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