Writing Tips

Writing Characters With Trauma

TW! This chapter deals about trauma, mentions different types of abuse/stressful situations that cause trauma) and talks about the potential responses from a survivor of a car crash. Please, if you're sensitive to the mention of these topics, I suggest you skip this chapter.

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Trauma, by definition, is any form of extreme stress that has a lasting effect on one's phsyical, mental, or emotional being. This includes bullying, sexual assault/abuse/harassment, psychological/mental or emotional abuse, physical abuse, being overworked, being taken advantage of financially, being coerced into doing things that aren't safe, or being a secondary survivor of anyone else's trauma (meaning a witness or a close loved one during the events of the trauma). Remember that trauma doesn't come just from abuse.

One mistake I've made in the past with writing characters with trauma is making that their entire personality/the very thing that defines them. Which is never true in any scenario. Trauma is an aspect of someone's life, not the one single thing that defines them as a person. When writing a character with trauma, be sure to remember that they have a personality, even though they may be heavily affected by a traumatic event. It will change them, but it won't define them.

Trauma in real life presents itself in a plethora of ways, the most common being the development of depression, anxiety, and agression displacement. Someone, if the trauma occurs at a young age, could also develop a personality disorder or another mental disorder as a way of their body attempting to protect itself. But disorders aren't always developed from trauma, so don't jump right to that response.

Think of the other ways trauma might present in your character, like perhaps they close off from the world and never speak to anyone about their experience or feelings. Or maybe they can't stop thinking about it or talking about it. Maybe they know they need help but don't know where to get it. Maybe they mask their trauma by becoming overly confident in themselves all of a sudden. Perhaps they mask it simply by just smiling all the time and being kind to others. Maybe they displace their anger and take it out on everybody else when they can't take it out on the one who caused the trauma. Maybe they self-harm because they don't know any other way to feel relief. Perhaps they blame themselves and punish themselves however they can, or just feel completely unworthy.

You need to think about your character and their personality before the trauma, as well. How would they act in the moment, then think: how would they act after? How would it affect their personality in the future? Even think about how would it change their view on the world. Would it make them more pessimistic? Or would they still try to see the good in everything despite what happened? Would they become distrustful, or would they draw closer to their loved ones as a result of the trauma?

Another thing to remember is that nobody stays in one spot or "stage" of their trauma/recovery. One's mood and mental state will change and fluctuate over time, sometimes getting better and sometimes getting worse. Keep in mind that it's pretty unrealistic for someone to hold onto trauma their whole life, especially if they're getting help. Though sometimes, it may be the case, it isn't most of the time and a lot of people do get better and that trauma can and will become pretty much irrelevant in the long run.

Putting all of this together, let's make a scenario.

Say Mr. A was just in a car crash that killed the other driver and severely injured the woman in the other car at the fault of the other driver (not Mr. A). Mr. A was alone in the car and driving when it happened.

There are several directions this could go in his future.

Mr. A might be scared to drive and refuse to, and/or he may refuse to be in a car by himself. Or he could refuse to get in a car whatsoever and use other modes of transportation instead due to his new fear of vehicles. He might be scared to cross the street. But he might be perfectly okay when he's not alone in a vehicle and he might be okay elsewhere, like at parties or work. He could even seek out therapy to help him work through the trauma from the crash.

But on the other hand, he might lash out at people at work because he hates himself and blames himself for the crash that killed and injured two people. He might self-harm because he feels unworthy of anything but severe punishment for something that, in the end, wasn't his fault. He might not talk about the situation at all and keep all of his feelings inside until he has a breakdown. He may act overly confident about the fact that he survived and he didn't cause the crash, making himself the "good guy" or possibly making it seem like the other driver and the passenger in the other car deserved what happened to them.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when writing characters with trauma. And always remember: not everybody is okay with every subject. It is extremely important to include trigger warnings (like the ones I put at the beginning of this one) before chapters or stories that include topics that may upset your readers. It may seem silly to you, but it could save a life.

Be safe always, and thank you for reading!