I can absolutely see why break ups, failing a class, and getting yelled at by someone can be traumatic. I’ve had quite traumatic break ups in my youth due to my

I can absolutely see why break ups, failing a class, and getting yelled at by someone can be traumatic. I’ve had quite traumatic break ups in my youth due to my own attachment and expectations about the relationship and life. If someone had a lot of pressure about academic success growing up, or a lot of hopes attached to good grades, failure could be traumatic. I would hope that the potential for trauma in getting yelled at would be self evident. Trauma doesn’t mean the experience will be forever embedded as “baggage”. It means it’s something we’re carrying with us right now. Something we’ve not fully processed or healed from. I’ve found that identifying and recognizing trauma is part of the healing process. Failing to identify trauma can mean carrying it with you longer - snapping at others when you get too irritated, because someone did so to you and you haven’t processed the emotional trauma of the situation, for example. Or high anxiety at work carried over from the trauma of failing a class, because you haven’t recognized that even after that failure things worked out okay and you’re still carrying the fear of failure. Trauma like many words has degrees. It is similar to the word injury in that sense. Losing your legs in a motorcycle accident is an injury. A sprained wrist is also an injury. Just remember that with trauma it is hard to see how deep it went. Perhaps someone did experience quite strong trauma from something you would manage easily. That’s due to the different lives you lead, and differences in experience, values, and goals. And remember that situations others might handle well could be things you struggle with. Everyone’s experience is their own.