Trauma is a psychological and emotional response to a distressing or disturbing event, such as experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event like violence, abuse, a natural disaster, combat, or a life-threatening situation. Trauma can lead to symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance of reminders of the event, emotional numbness, difficulty sleeping, irritability, and hypervigilance. Trauma can also impact an individual's ability to form and maintain relationships, affect their self-esteem and sense of safety, and contribute to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).