The only way to get over the pain is to face it, embrace it, hug it and learn the lessons embedded within it.

― Adele Theron

All of us, in some way or another, have experienced the stab of rejection, betrayal, neglect, bullying, and even humiliation at the hands of another.

But at what point does being emotionally hurt turn into becoming emotionally traumatized?

What is Emotional Trauma?

Emotional trauma occurs when you are exposed to a situation that is so extreme (e.g., horrendous betrayal from a loved one, the suicide of someone, etc.) that the body, heart, and mind struggle to handle the intense emotions that come with such a shocking experience. 

As a result, the body-mind system tends to enter a freeze state, which is characterized by feelings of numbness, dissociation from reality, and the sudden or eventual appearance of intense symptoms like chronic anxiety, depression, addictions, PTSD, or other life-disrupting patterns.

Emotional trauma can also happen due to ongoing situations, such as being bullied, being trapped in an environment (such as in childhood) in which your sense of self-worth was destroyed or diminished, being repeatedly betrayed, treated cruelly, judged negatively, made fun of, and so on. 

Experiencing abandonment trauma as a child is also a widespread form of emotional trauma.

Four Components of Trauma

Trauma is not what happens to us. But what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.

— Peter A Levine, PhD

According to psychotherapist and pioneer of Somatic Experiencing®, Peter Levine, there are four aspects of trauma that will be present, in some way, in all traumatized people:

1. Hyperarousal (i.e., being overly alert and on guard)
2. Constriction (i.e., tense body)
3. Dissociation (i.e., disconnection from the here and now)
4. Freezing (immobility), associated with the feeling of helplessness

I’ll be using these four components of trauma as a basis for the emotional trauma test below.

Emotional Trauma, Inner Work, and Spiritual Wellbeing

Discovering our level of emotional trauma is a crucial part of inner work, which is:

… the psychological and spiritual practice of diving deep into your inner self for the purposes of self-exploration, self-understanding, healing, and spiritual transformation.

{What is Inner Work?}

When we work to heal, resolve, or integrate the emotional trauma we carry, a tremendous amount of inner energy is freed up which allows us to grow and blossom in unimaginably beautiful and profound ways.

Healing emotional trauma, therefore, is a vital part of our awakening journeys of Soul Work as spiritual wanderers.

We often embark on this healing quest in stages five and six of the spiritual wanderer’s journey.

Emotional Trauma Test

Healing doesn’t mean the pain never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.

– K. Salmansohn

The free emotional trauma test below isn’t meant to ‘diagnose’ you in any way. It’s simply a tool you can use to shed more light on your inner landscape. 

Please use this test simply as a doorway to introspection and further action, not as a set-in-stone analysis of your character or what happened in your life. 

Whatever result you get is not the absolute truth, and if you feel like it’s wrong, that is totally fine, because it might be!

Trust in your gut and your inner knowing above all else – this test only attempts (in an imperfect way) to provide you with some potential insight and healing pathways. 

If, at any point, you feel uncomfortable during the process of taking this test, please step away, seek out support, grounding, and centeredness immediately. Only return to this test when you feel safe inside.

What did you get?

If you’re comfortable, I welcome you to share your results in the comments. You never know who might feel comforted by your words or presence.