Chronic Pain · Trauma
Medical Trauma Processing Worksheet
This is trauma, not overreaction
Medical trauma — from procedures, diagnoses, ER experiences, dismissive providers, chronic care — is real trauma. It responds to trauma treatment.
The events that keep returning
What happened; who was there; what was missing
What I want to say to the medical system
How medical trauma shows up now
- Avoiding appointments, tests, procedures
- Panic in medical settings, at smells, at forms
- Dissociation during care
- Rage at providers who remind me of a bad one
- Difficulty trusting my body's signals
What I need next
Trauma-informed therapy, EMDR, a debrief letter, a chosen advocate for appointments
This is trauma, not overreaction
Being under-anesthetized, dismissed, undressed without warning, given a hard diagnosis alone — the body files these the same way it files any trauma.