A traumatic experience is an event that threatens someone’s life, safety or well being.

Trauma can include a direct encounter with a dangerous or threatening event, or it can involve witnessing the endangerment or suffering of another living being.   

A key condition that makes these events traumatic is that they can overwhelm a person’s capacity to cope, and elicit intense feelings such as fear, terror, helplessness, hopelessness, and despair.  

Traumatic events include: 

• emotional, physical, and sexual abuse
• neglect
• and despair
• physical assaults
• witnessing family, school or community violence
• war
• racism
• bullying
• acts of terrorism
• fires
• serious accidents
• serious injuries
• intrusive or painful medical procedures
• loss of loved ones
• abandonment
• separation

Buffington, K., Dierkhising, C. B., Marsh, S. C. (2010). Ten things every juvenile court judge should know about trauma and delinquency. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 61(3), 14.