In PTSD, a trauma is defined as “exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence”. The trauma can be something that happened to you as a child or as an adult, something that happened once or many times over the years, or even something that you witnessed or learned about it happening to a close family member or friend. Even though we often describe things like a divorce, a bad argument with a friend or parent, a difficult move, or a toxic work environment as ‘traumatic’, these major stressors are not experiences that would lead to a diagnosis of PTSD. When we think about “Big T” traumas, we mean events like childhood physical or sexual abuse, an actual or threatened assault, unwanted sexual contact or abuse, exposure to war or combat, severe motor vehicle accidents, natural or man-made disasters, or sudden/catastrophic medical events.