Missing Pieces of Me
This illustration is about how trauma affects memory, usually causing large gaps in one’s memory – which can lead to feeling as if you have lost parts of yourself and your life
Taking Flight
This illustration is about how trauma can lead to an overactive flight reaction, causing a major increase in anxiety and panic – feeling as though birds are bursting out of your chest.
Keep Up
This illustration is about the effects trauma and mental illness can have on your energy levels. Low energy and lethargy may make someone feel as if their limbs are too heavy, like it takes a huge amount of effort and energy to do just about anything.
You Are Not Your Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are described as uninvited and unwanted, usually disturbing thoughts. This illustration depicts how some people feel as though their intrusive thoughts reflect them as a person.
Mind and Body
This illustration is about the link between mental health and bodily health. Severe trauma can actually lead to many different kinds of autoimmune disorders. An autoimmune disorder is typically a disorder in which your body attacks itself.
Distorted Perception
This illustration is about reliving trauma, and how a simple trigger can change one’s perception of the world around them drastically, leading them to feel as though everyone and everything around them has become hostile and disturbing.
Hollow
This illustration is about the hollow and empty feeling of depression. In most cases, severe trauma can lead to mental illnesses such as depression, which can cause one to feel things ranging from being filled with intense sadness to completely devoid of emotion.
Self Destruction
This illustration is about bad coping mechanisms and self destructive tendencies. It is fairly common for people struggling with trauma, anger issues, and mental illness to use self destructive behavior (such as drinking, doing drugs, self harming) as a coping mechanism.
Manifestations of the Traumatized Mind
“Manifestations of the Traumatized Mind” is a series of illustrations that depict the complex residual symptoms of trauma, and what they feel like to the individuals who experience them.
