Why Is Trauma Such an Overused Word These Days?
It seems like the word trauma is everywhere lately. From social media posts to casual conversations, trauma has become a catch-all term for a wide range of experiences—from life-altering events to minor inconveniences. While this increased visibility can help normalize discussions about mental health, it also raises important questions: What does trauma actually mean? Why is it being used so widely? And what are the consequences of this overuse?
The Rise of Trauma Awareness
One reason trauma has become such a common term is the growing awareness of mental health issues. Over the past few decades, psychological research and trauma-informed frameworks have made concepts like PTSD, childhood trauma, and intergenerational trauma more accessible to the public. This visibility has encouraged people to reflect on how their experiences shape their emotional and physical well-being, fostering important conversations about healing.
However, as trauma enters mainstream discourse, its meaning has begun to blur. Trauma, once understood as a specific and profound rupture in relational or personal well-being, is now often applied to much more mundane situations. While this can democratize conversations about harm and healing, it risks diluting the term’s significance and overlooking the systemic and relational dimensions of trauma.
The Dominant Ontology of Trauma
The way we talk about trauma is also shaped by the dominant ontology—the framework of Western thought that prioritizes individualism and pathology. In this worldview, trauma is often reduced to a clinical diagnosis or a personal failing, detached from its relational and systemic roots.
For example, trauma is frequently framed as something that happens to an individual, with less attention given to how systemic forces—like colonialism, racism, or environmental degradation—create cycles of harm. This individualized framing aligns with a culture that values productivity and resilience, subtly placing the responsibility for healing on the individual rather than addressing systemic causes.
As trauma becomes more widely discussed, this reductionist lens persists, contributing to the overuse of the term and limiting its transformative potential.
Why Overuse Matters
Overusing the term trauma can have unintended consequences:
Dilution of Meaning: When trauma is used to describe everything from profound suffering to everyday stress, it risks losing its specificity. This can make it harder to address severe and systemic trauma effectively.
Perpetuation of Individualism: By framing trauma as a personal experience disconnected from systems of power, the term reinforces the dominant ontology, which overlooks collective and relational dimensions of healing.
Pathologizing Everyday Challenges: Labelling all discomfort as trauma can inadvertently pathologize normal experiences of stress or adversity, minimizing resilience and coping as natural parts of life.
Reclaiming a Relational Understanding of Trauma
To address the overuse and misrepresentation of trauma, we need to reframe it through a relational lens. Trauma isn’t just an individual experience—it’s a rupture in relationships, whether with ourselves, others, or the systems and ecosystems we inhabit.
This perspective asks us to consider:
How do systemic forces like colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy contribute to cycles of harm?
How can we honor the depth of trauma without pathologizing everyday struggles?
What would it look like to center community, connection, and reciprocity in conversations about trauma and healing?
By reclaiming a relational understanding of trauma, we can move beyond the dominant ontology and begin to address its true roots and implications.
An Invitation
What if we reframed trauma not as a label to describe every challenge, but as an opportunity to explore connection, healing, and systemic change? How might your understanding of trauma shift if you saw it as relational rather than purely individual?
I invite you to reflect on how the word trauma is used in your life and community. Let’s work together to ensure that conversations about trauma remain meaningful, grounded, and transformative—shining a light on both the pain and the possibilities that come with healing.
