To avoid trauma-driven decisions, doing the following may help. Once an individual can step back and look at a situation without reacting instinctively, they will be able to make the best decisions for themselves and their well-being. In contrast, someone in an unhealthy relationship might flop and stay with the other person, as their trauma drives them to attempt to get through the situation.īreaking the habit of making trauma-driven decisions can be challenging. For instance, a flight response to a trigger may suddenly cause someone to quit their job or break up with their partner. Trauma-driven decisions can include any of these actions. Freeze – Being unable to move or do anything.Fawn – Attempting to please someone who is harming you.Flop – Doing what you are told without protest to get through a problem.Flight – Running or hiding to get away from a situation.Fight – Struggling or lashing out to escape a scenario which they perceive as dangerous.These can include some of the following responses: Upon experiencing a trigger, an individual may make unwise decisions to escape the situation. Unfortunately, this has a significant impact on decision-making. If a person is triggered, the amygdala responds as if experiencing the actual traumatic event for the first time. However, for those living with trauma, the amygdala can’t recognise the difference between a past threat and a current threat. Here, the amygdala, which is the part of the brain responsible for sending warning alerts to our body, sends us a message whenever it feels like we may be in danger. This dysregulation stems from the changes that trauma creates in the brain. They may also participate in other unhealthy behaviours, such as gambling or overworking. In turn, they use drugs or alcohol in an attempt to curb these feelings. For example, some individuals can struggle with feeling too much or feeling numb. Emotional dysregulation affects how people dealing with trauma make decisions. This is known as emotional dysregulation. Those who experience trauma can have trouble regulating emotions, such as anger, sadness, anxiety, and shame. These findings also speculate that this utilitarian style may be associated with protection, with the person attempting to shield themselves from unnecessary emotional harm. Here, decisions typically tend to be more utilitarian than others. Research has shown that those who experience childhood trauma may encounter moral decision-making in adulthood. This is because people make decisions based on emotion rather than logic. Those struggling with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD (C-PTSD) often find their decision-making alters after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It influences their emotions, their brain, and, unsurprisingly, their decisions. Trauma impacts all parts of a person’s life. Some may change their hair dramatically, whilst others may quit a job they were seemingly happy in for no apparent reason.Īlthough they might look like the wrong decisions to onlookers, they make crystal clear sense to the person living with trauma. Those affected by trauma can sometimes appear to make strange or adverse decisions.
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