To better process the way personality changes, we must examine the foundation first. The brain puts surviving above development of character. When someone faces extreme or long during trauma, the amygdala also known as the alarm system of the brain grows into a hyper-sensitive mode. At the same time, the prefrontal cortex that manages functioning and emotional regulation can become unmoving. This means that someone who used to be bold, adventure loving but relaxed can turn into a risk avoidant and paranoid person. This isn’t done on purpose; it is a neurological transformation. The bodies of trauma survivors usually have reactions as if they are still under danger even though the trauma causing event has passed (Van Der Kolk, 2014). This physiological feeling of being stuck is the main motivator behind changes in personality.
The Change From Openness To Shutting Down
The Five Factor Model consisting of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism states that traumatic experiences often lead to someone pulling away, shutting down. One of the most well-known decreases is the openness to experiences. Trauma develops a priority in safety of the person. The world around them that was once a world full of opportunities is now a dangerous place. A trauma survivor can create a personality that has inflexible traits and an extreme need for control. This narrow personality is also a kind of protective layer for the person. Even though it can protect someone from additional trauma, it also decreases the possibility of happiness and finding joy which results in other people describing them as changed after the traumatic event.
A Crack In Character: Dissociating
When there is severe childhood trauma the changes are even more significant. When trauma develops during the developmental years, it can hamper with the evolution of a concrete identity. This often leads to dissociating, where different parts of the personality are categorized so that they contain severe overwhelming emotions. The Theory of Structural Dissociation argues that the personality may divide into “apparently normal parts” also known as ANP’s, which handle daily life and task , and “emotional parts” also known as EP’s, which hold the memory of trauma and defence methods. To someone looking from the outside his may be in the form of irregular mood swings or unstable behaviour but it’s a survival method created to help the person to carry on daily life while navigating terrible psychological pain.
Neuroticism and Losing Trust
Most of the time trauma causes neuroticism to increase which is the habit of experiencing negative emotions. This is portrayed as long-term anxiety, irritation and outbursts of anger. Trauma survivor’s’ bodies is always on high alert against threat so the person might be watchful for certain expressions and tones, often mistaking neutral hints as angry and hostile. This change alters the “Agreeableness” part of one’s personality. Trauma survivors might become hostile, disagreeable; not because they have bad intention but as a mechanism against anticipated threat. Trust is the foundation of social personality; it keeps everything together. It is also one of the first factors that get lost while reshaping of the personality. When something so foundational is collapsed, the personality shapes into something scornful and self-sufficient.
Growth After Trauma: The Possibility Of Positive Reshaping
Usually, the damage after trauma is highlighted but reshaping caused by trauma is not always bad. Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) states that the action of “shattering” can result in a stronger “reshaping” of the person. Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004) state that a lot of survivors explained they felt an increase in empathy, spirituality and changes in priority. In these cases, the personality develops into something more sympathetic and appreciative. The reshaping here focuses on the synthesis of trauma into an advanced and complicated version of self.
Conclusion
Trauma is not something that just starts and ends; it’s something that causes significant psychological and biological reshaping. Changing the harmony between the emotional and analytical parts of the brain pushes the personality to acclimate to an environment that feels dangerous. Processing the reality that personalities change and accepting that it can be in forms of irritability, disengagement or grimness and that all of this aren’t personality issues, but processes of acclimation is the first step of healing. By utilizing therapy methods such as Mindfulness, EMDR and somatic experiencing, it is plausible to reshape the initial rewiring of the personality, assisting it in moving from a constant state of defence to a more connected and growing version.
References
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). “Posttraumatic growth: conceptual foundations and empirical evidence”. Psychological inquiry, 15(1), 1-18.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. New York, 3, 14-211.