Trauma Injuries

Violent & Catastrophic Trauma

Refugee and war zone trauma

This can result from experiencing armed combat, political violence, or torture. Refugee trauma may be caused by living in a habitat consumed by bombing, gunfire, and looting. Being forced from your home to a foreign place based on political differences is extremely traumatic and another common type of refugee trauma. Many refugees have been mandated to serve as soldiers, guerrillas, or other militants in their homeland, and the trauma they have faced may mirror what other veterans of war must cope with.

Natural disasters

A natural disaster is defined as a tragedy caused by nature's woes (e.g., tornado, hurricane, earthquake, fire, flood, etc.) that causes such devastation that local, state, and/or federal agencies (e.g., FEMA) and disaster relief organizations (e.g., Red Cross) are called upon for assistance. A disaster, such as a nuclear explosion, can also be manmade. However, if it is proven that the destruction was intentional, then it is deemed to be terrorism.

Terrorism

There are numerous legalities and formal definitions concerning terrorism, but the gist of it is when one particular group attempt to get a message across to an opponent through lasting psychological damage. According to the US Department of Defense, terrorism is "the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological." Terrorism attacks can be carried out by individuals (e.g., suicide bomber) or by groups.