“But it’s Not Big Enough to be Called Trauma”

It’s the imposter syndrome of adverse experiences, and we hear it on repeat. “My experience isn’t bad enough to be called trauma,” they say. “Other people have it worse, and really mine isn’t even that traumatic.” For many people, the label “trauma” doesn’t seem to fit because they haven’t lived through a situation they (or rather, society) deems extreme enough. They may be showing all the classic symptoms of trauma, and yet they can’t approach that word, because in their minds, it’s reserved for something far worse.