trauma

n. 1. Any event which inflicts physical damage on the body or severe shock on the mind or both. Being the victim of a serious car accident, assault, rape, or false prosecution is likely to produce shock in an individual with lasting mental consequences just as being injured in some way inflicts damage to the body. 2. The damage inflicted by a traumatic event, as in the head trauma caused by a car accident or the stress caused by being falsely prosecuted.