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Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, CDCES, MBA
PTSD, Glimmers, EMDR and more defined
by Vivian Nunez
A lot of newness settles into your life when you’re processing trauma, managing types of PTSD, or helping someone you love navigate it all. You may be getting to know a new therapist, and they may introduce you to the fact that what you’ve been feeling has an actual name and definition.
There’s comfort in knowing your experience has a definition, like somehow your challenges feel more seen, and you feel less invisible. But it’s also true that you’re already coping with so much — learning the ins and outs of a new experience you or someone you love is going through can be a lot.
To make life a little easier for you, we’ve compiled (and defined) some of the most common terms you may encounter while processing trauma. Now, all you have to do is bookmark this article and let us do the heavy lifting for you.
The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped part of the brain responsible for processing emotions. You will commonly hear about the amygdala in conversations around trauma and PTSD.
An anxiety disorder is any anxiety-related mental health experience that persists and noticeably impacts your daily life. There are many different types of anxiety disorders: PTSD, CTPSD, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are just a few.
Avoidance behaviors are the habits or behaviors you develop to avoid or distract from overwhelming situations or feelings.
AEDP is short for Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, a newer form of trauma-focused therapy that teaches you to recognize, process, and regulate triggering emotions.
CBT is short for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It is a popular form of therapy that focuses on helping you replace unhealthy responses to triggers with healthier alternatives.
CPT is short for Cognitive Processing Therapy and is a type of CBT focusing specifically on trauma. For example, it’s often used with veterans and victims of war, natural disasters, or rape. It works to help patients get “unstuck” through homework assignments or worksheets.
C-PTSD is short for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It has similar symptoms to PTSD, but is caused by multiple different traumas, as opposed to a single traumatic experience.
DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which is a type of therapy available for anyone dealing with trauma. Its four pillars are mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotional regulation. Here, a therapist will help you learn how to practice self-acceptance in the face of triggers.
EMDR is short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a method by which a therapist guides patients to remember a traumatic event while moving their eyes in specific ways. The goal is to help you re-process trauma in a way that minimizes the physical and emotional triggers the memory will bring up in the future.
In the context of trauma, emotional distress is a phrase often used to describe the familiar unpleasant feelings and discomfort that surface when your triggers are present (either physically or emotionally). Everyone’s emotional distress is different, but to use a physical example it can feel like the equivalent of an open wound that never heals.
Lovingly known as the brain’s CEO, executive functions are the hodgepodge of skills and processes that make it possible for you to move through your daily activities with confidence and direction. The next time you plan an itinerary or outline your list of priorities, you can thank executive functions and the skills they make possible.
Fight, flight, or freeze describes three prevalent ways your body can respond to feeling unsafe or triggered.
Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. Instead of cueing negative emotions or memories, a glimmer is anything that helps bring you peace, joy, or confidence.
Post-traumatic growth, or PTG, describes the positive outcomes or growth resulting from your traumatic experiences.
Post-traumatic stress, or PTSD, is an anxiety disorder with symptoms like pervasive unpleasant thoughts, feelings of anxiety, or sadness that occur after experiencing a traumatic event. PTSD diagnosis criteria require that symptoms persist for over a month.
Relational wounds are experiences that shift our perspective, confidence, and sense of safety in existing and new relationships.
Ruminations describe any thoughts that generate distressing feelings that you can’t shake and that stay on your mind constantly.
Toxic positivity is when someone encourages you to focus only on positive feelings or experiences and ignore negative feelings or traumas.
Trauma-focused therapies can include (but are not limited to) CBT, CPT, EMDR, DBT, and AEDP. These different types of therapies can help you process trauma.
Triggers can be anything that makes you feel a strong emotional reaction. For instance, they can be anything from a smell to a sound to an experience - or even a calendar date.
The vagus nerve is a nerve that connects the brain to the gut. It can send signals that cue your body and mind to calm down after you’ve been triggered.
Want to learn more facts about PTSD and how it impacts your body and mind? Listen to our Support for Trauma and PTSD clinical program.
Calm Health is not intended to diagnose or treat depression, anxiety, or any other mental or physical health condition. The use of Calm Health is not a substitute for care by a physician or other health care provider. Any questions that you may have regarding the diagnosis, care, or treatment of a health condition should be directed to your physician or health care provider. Calm Health is a mental wellness product.
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