The Universality of Trauma

For many trauma survivors, this capacity has been eroded by years of chronic hyperactivation, avoidance, or emotional numbing. The nervous system has learned that survival means escape. When these patients are placed directly into imaginal exposure or cognitive restructuring exercises without sufficient grounding, the body interprets therapy itself as a new threat.

Researchers studying veterans and active-duty service members have repeatedly observed that distress intolerance, not disbelief in treatment, is the main driver of early dropout (Hoge et al., 2014; Berke et al., 2019). The challenge is not about the science behind these therapies; it’s about the sequence in which we deploy them. In most models, distress tolerance is something expected to develop through exposure, rather than before it. But for many individuals, exposure without having received requisite regulation skills training feels less like healing and more like re-traumatization. 

🔬 Understanding Trauma

Psychological trauma is defined as an emotional response to an event, series of events, or circumstances that an individual experiences as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening. Crucially, the event must have lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and well-being.

The core of trauma lies in the event being so distressing or overwhelming that it exceeds a person's ability to cope with or integrate the intense emotions involved, often leading to a profound sense of helplessness and fear. Not every stressful event leads to trauma.

Key Points About Trauma

• It’s Subjective: What is traumatic is personal. The same event might be traumatic for one person but not another. It is determined by the individual's subjective emotional experience, particularly how frightened, helpless, or overwhelmed they felt.

• The Impact is Long-Lasting: The effects can persist long after the event itself , disrupting a person's sense of safety, sense of self, ability to regulate emotions, and their relationships.

• It Doesn't Always Involve Physical Harm: While often associated with physical injury or violence, trauma can result from any situation that leaves a person feeling utterly overwhelmed, trapped, or isolated, such as severe emotional abuse or betrayal.

Common Symptoms of Trauma

Trauma can manifest in both emotional and physical symptoms.

• Emotional and Psychological Symptoms:

  • • Diminished focus

    • Hypervigilance

    • Intrusive memories

    • Anger and irritability

    • Depression

• Physical Symptoms:

  • • Headaches

    • Fatigue

    • Exaggerated startle/jumpiness

    • Racing heart

    • Sweating 

🌍 Tactical Calm™ Therapy for Trauma

Regardless of its origin, trauma is treatable, and recovery is possible. Generally, treatment for all cases progresses through three phases:

1. Stabilization

2. Counseling

3. Maintenance

Tactical Calm is a drug-free innovative approach, which emphasizes distress-tolerance conditioning and which is learned prior to and maintained throughout all trauma treatment phases.

Distress intolerance is a primary reason why patients do not stay in traditional trauma therapy long enough for it to be beneficial. Tactical Calm training focuses on the following: how to achieve a mental state of calm concentration when distressed and strengthening the body’s capacity to handle physiological distress.

💡 The 2-Dooz Solution: Personalized Tactical Calm Coaching

2-Dooz provides Tactical Calm training for post-trauma-distress by means of its Distress Systems Mitigation (DSM) App software, the OH•AI•SYS AI Model, and the 2-Dooz Smart Ring:

• The 2-Dooz smart ring monitors physiological signals of distress.

• The DSM App guides the user through a meditative breathing session, a clinically-proven method for reducing the severity of distress-induced symptoms.

• The DSM App displays the OH•AI•SYS AI Model’s real-time tracking of a user’s current mental fitness.

The result is drug-free, distress-tolerance conditioning that prepares a user for follow-on exposure therapy. The acquired skills are usable long-term as part of a post-trauma-distress maintenance therapy. 

➡️ Next Steps: Participate in a Clinical Study

The universality of trauma reflects the diverse ways people experience and respond to it. By acknowledging the breadth of traumatic experiences and the common humanity of those affected, we can better support healing and resilience using a self-coping tool rather than pharmacology.

2-Dooz, Inc. is offering a free opportunity to participate in a clinical study to assess the effectiveness of the DSM App and Smart Ring in managing and reducing PTSD symptoms.

This is an opportunity to explore a new, non-drug proactive path to managing symptoms and to be at the forefront of innovation in PTSD care.

Interested in a non-drug path to managing PTSD symptoms? [ Apply to the study ]

📚 References

• National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

• Zhang, Y., et al. (2022). Prevalence and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among nurses: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(8), 4062-4070. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jonm.13478

• Oncology Nursing Society. (2020). PTSD Is More Common Among Nurses Than You May Realize. ONS Voice. Retrieved from https://www.ons.org/publications-research/voice/news-views/08-2020/ptsd-more-common-among-nurses-you-may-realize

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD: National Center for PTSD, Retrieved from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/related/related_list_grief.asp

• Goodman, J. et. al., Journal of Veterans Studies, Combat Veteran Mental Health Outcomes After Short-Term Counseling Services (2025), Retrieved from https://journal-veterans-studies.org/articles/10.21061/jvs.v11i1.672

• Reisman, Marium, National Institute of Health, National Center for Biotechnology Information, PTSD Treatment for Veterans: What’s Working, What’s New, and What’s Next (2016), Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5047000

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Trauma and Violence. Retrieved from: https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/trauma-violence

• Medical News Today, What is Trauma, What to Know. Retrieved from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/trauma

(Disclaimer: This article provides general information and does not constitute medical advice. Treatment decisions for PTSD and related conditions should always be made in consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.  If you are, or if you know someone who is in crisis, please seek immediate help by calling or texting the Crisis Line at 988.)