THE CONCEPT OF CONTINUOUS TRAUMATIC STRESS AND THE CONTEXT OF ITS APPLICATION

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of the article is to determine the conceptual content of continuous traumatic stressand the contexts of its application.Methods. The investigation uses methods of the literature theoretical study in combination with analysis,synthesis and generalization.Results. The article presents the results of the analysis of the main psychological literature sources todetermine the conceptual content of the prolonged traumatic stress concept. The main application contextsof the continuous traumatic stress concept are singled out and analyzed: the context of man - caused and naturaldisasters, the military context, the contexts of domestic violence and pandemics. The leading featureof continuous traumatic stress caused by disasters has been found to be that they cannot determine the exacttime when one traumatic event ended and another began. A sign of prolonged traumatic stress in servicemenwho are in the combat zone is that they are not only there, but also directly involved in the action. Equally important is the context of domestic violence against women and children. It was found that women who areconstantly in such stressful situations, constantly feel discomfort when communicating with men. Children whoexperience prolonged domestic violence have broken relationships with adults and lack communication skillswith peers. The introduction of quarantine in connection with a pandemic has been identified as a continuoustraumatic and stressful situation. The pandemic situation has a negative impact not only on the social status,but also on the psychological state of people, including the most vulnerable groups: health workers, peoplewith chronic diseases and the elderly. After the disease, some people experience fear, anxiety, depression,which disappear in a few months.Conclusions. The results of the study allowed us to conclude that prolonged traumatic stress indicatesthe impact of past, present and future stressors, which cannot be avoided. This concept is used in severalcontexts: man-made and natural disasters, the military context, the contexts of domestic violence and pandemics.Traumatic situations have not only social but also psychological impact, which manifests itself both immediatelyand sometime after a long traumatic experience.