Trauma generally refers to an individual’s emotional response—including shock, denial, anger and physical symptoms—to a dramatic threat or event: being the victim of sexual or physical abuse, gun violence, war or natural disaster. But trauma can occur even without these cataclysmic events: ongoing neglect or family dysfunction can also be traumatic, triggering changes in the brain and body that lead to physical, behavioral and mental health problems in later life.

Learn more at www.apa.org/topics/trauma/