{"id":20894,"date":"2025-09-03T11:37:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T09:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/?p=20894"},"modified":"2025-09-03T11:46:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T09:46:28","slug":"the-toll-of-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/archives\/20894","title":{"rendered":"The toll of trauma\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"20894\" class=\"elementor elementor-20894\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f5ba1b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6f5ba1b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b734f4e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b734f4e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h5 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Trauma is far more than just a difficult or shocking experience; it\u2019s an emotional response to overwhelming events that exceed our ability to cope. <\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c7bb6cb elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c7bb6cb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" src=\"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/traumatised-female.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-20920\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/traumatised-female.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/traumatised-female-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/traumatised-female-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3819ea6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3819ea6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>World Trauma Day (17 October) shines a light on trauma in all its forms, and especially how it affects our mental health.<\/p><p>In South Africa, trauma exposure is alarmingly common, with approximately 75% of the population experiencing at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, according to a research study in KwaZulu-Natal in 2024. When traumatic experiences overwhelm our normal coping mechanisms, they can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which affects about 2,3% of South Africans.<\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Trauma extends beyond violence and crime, and can stem from unexpected sources.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"12\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The emotional wounds from <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">systemic discrimination and oppression during apartheid <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">are passed down from one generation to the next,\u202fmanifesting in mental health issues, socio-economic challenges, and community dynamics.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"12\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Extreme poverty<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> \u2013 with its constant battle for food and shelter, lack of access to help, and feelings of hopelessness \u2013 creates chronic trauma and affects brain function, which in turn has a profound impact on mental wellbeing.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-818b69b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"818b69b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>This collective trauma has contributed to South Africa\u2019s significant mental health burden, with up to 25% of the population affected by conditions such as depression and anxiety.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4ad6ee1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4ad6ee1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Trauma.jpg\" title=\"Trauma\" alt=\"Trauma\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div style=\"display:flex; gap:10px;justify-content:center\" class=\"wps-pgfw-pdf-generate-icon__wrapper-frontend\">\n\t\t<a  href=\"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20894?action=genpdf&amp;id=20894\" class=\"pgfw-single-pdf-download-button\" ><img src=\"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-generator-for-wp\/admin\/src\/images\/PDF_Tray.svg\" title=\"Generate PDF\" style=\"width:auto; height:45px;\"><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trauma is far more than just a difficult or shocking experience; it\u2019s an emotional response to overwhelming events that exceed our ability to cope. World Trauma Day (17 October) shines a light on trauma in all its forms, and especially how it affects our mental health. In South Africa, trauma exposure is alarmingly common, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[346],"class_list":["post-20894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-wellness-afrocentric15","tag-afrocentric15"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20894"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20923,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20894\/revisions\/20923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmediacreative.co.za\/afrocentric\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}