The Cult of Trauma: A Viewpoint Regarding the Glamorization of Trauma

Trauma is the emotional reaction to a terrible incident such as an accident, a criminal act, a natural disaster, emotional or physical abuse, neglect, being the victim of violence, losing a loved one, a war, and more. Trauma can include events where one can feel frightened, under threat, humiliated, rejected, abandoned, invalidated, or unsafe. While trauma holds an important clinical significance, it is more often used in a fashioned way in the past decade with many communities holding trauma accountable to every bad life experience. Trauma is now more of a “buzzword” causing a psychological concern about the “cult of trauma”.