My imaginging reality photography project has changed and developed and now I am focusing on trauma through the character “Alaska” from the book “Looking for Alaska”. To help me with the changes to my project, I decided to do some research into trauma and the symptoms.

The definition of trauma is “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience”. In the book, Alaska exeriences trauma as she watched her mother die infront of her. Trauma can also link to other disorders like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), Anxiety, depression, insomnia and more. It is said the there is 3 main types of trauma. Acute, Chronic and Complex. Acute trauma results from a single incident, Chronic trauma is repeated and prolonged e.g. domestic abuse and Complex trauma is exposure to multiple traumatic events. From this I would say that Alaskas trauma is Acute trauma.

People with Acute trauma can have the following symptoms:

• Feeling numb and detached/ disconnected
• Reduced awareness of thier surroundings
• Flashbacks to the traumatic event
• Avoidance
• Anxiety
• Constantly tense
• Difficulty concentrating
• Drug abuse
• Extreme mood swings
• Negative mood, excessive worrying and crying
• Thoughts of suicide or self-harm

This research and my new unsterstanding of trauma will be reflected in my final series of images. Each image will be based on a type of symptom of trauma. The series as a whole will show how Alaska dealt with trauma and how it affected her life.

Research and information sources:

• https://dmh.mo.gov/healthykids/providers/trauma
• https://www.healthline.com/health/acute-stress-disorder
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324354