When it refers to trauma, it generally means an unresolved emotion that occurred a long time ago, yet it still has a lasting impact on the present. In psychology, people will typically be led to their trauma, which is regarded as the source of their current suffering. And generally, it will be something that happened in their childhood or their teenage years.
However, twenty is an important age that professionals generally ignore. It is a common age that a person has an awareness and ability for autonomy, as they are far away from their families for the purpose of study. If an idealistic person encountered such a reality in such an age, it’s a heavy blow. As they hold a positive hope for their bright future, they lack the ability to protect themselves.
It’s a sound of breaking a dream, and it will echo for a long time.
The impact is the breaking, but the echo. It will essentially change one’s structure immediately. Such a person, who holds idealistic views, won’t give themselves up to fit into the mainstream narrative, but builds their own world to protect their dream.
If the person didn’t take another try on such trauma, even though there are some great new opportunities, they will have remaining regrets over time. There might be another new fatal blow from the outside, which has enough impact to make them take a change again, just because of the nature of their personality.
Shortly, for idealists, the first trauma they got won’t make them give up, but more likely to close themselves; however, closing themselves won’t solve the real issue, as it delays the next impact. In other words, such a new current impact, mixed with the precious regrets, evokes a heavier shock wave, to force them to make a change. And it will change their structure again, undoubtedly.
Trauma is not inherently horrible; what matters is the echo of unresolved emotions. Therefore, expanding the capacity to process such an echo is the most critical thing to keep the idealism moving forward.