traumatizes
Inflicts lasting damage
Traumatizes means causes lasting psychological damage or distress.
A traumatic event—violence, abuse, disaster—overwhelms the mind's ability to cope: The accident traumatized her for years.
Used loosely, it describes any upsetting experience: That movie traumatized me as a kid.
The casual usage dilutes the clinical sense of deep, lasting harm.
Severe anxiety or suffering
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
- painBodily or emotional distress
shock · grief · devastation · heartbreak · sorrow · despair · agony · hurt
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- PTSDChronic reaction to horrific events
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
- intrusiveInvading others' privacy
hypervigilance · startle · panic · anxiety · fear · triggers · reexperiencing · avoidance
Targets for harm
- damagesCompensation for injury
- injuresCauses physical harm
- scarsHealed wound tissue
- woundsBodily tissue damage
afflicts · brutalizes · terrorizes · abuses · violates · shatters · breaks · devastates
distress
Severe anxiety or suffering
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
pain · shock · grief · devastation · heartbreak · sorrow · despair · agony · hurt · wound
flashbacks
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- PTSDChronic reaction to horrific events
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
intrusive · hypervigilance · startle · panic · anxiety · fear · triggers · reexperiencing · avoidance · numbing
victimizes
Targets for harm
wounds · afflicts · brutalizes · terrorizes · abuses · violates · shatters · breaks · devastates · cripples
traumatizesuplifts
Raises emotionally or physically
empowers · inspires · delights · encourages · strengthens
traumatize, traumatized, traumatizing, traumatization, retraumatize