When you read the word trauma, what comes to mind? 

A shell-shocked war veteran? A person afraid to drive because of that time they were in a horrific accident? Someone who can’t shake intrusive memories of how they were mistreated as a child?

It is, or could be, any of those things. Trauma is subjective – two people can experience the same thing and walk away with very different interpretations of what happened and what it means about them, the world, people in general, or even God.

As early as the American Civil War, we have record of awareness that some individuals developed physical and emotional symptoms in response to wartime stress exposure . Over time, the terms changed, but were still primarily connected to some form of combat trauma; “soldier’s heart,” “shell shock,” and “combat fatigue” were a few of the terms offered to describe the cluster of physical symptoms that resembled sudden feelings of impending doom, panic, and overwhelming anxiety. All of these implied that there was something internally “wrong” with the person that would lead them to respond in an excessive way.

Third Culture Kids experience a variety of challenges, some more than others! Consider a young teenage boy impacted by several cultures. Born in his country of origin, he was placed in an orphanage with significant levels of neglect. After a few years, he was adopted by a family that turned out to be abusive. At the hands of his new parents, he suffered through physical and emotional abuse and neglect.