India, Oct. 22 -- Consultant psychiatrist Dr Megha Agarwal of Kailash Deepak Hospital, in an explainer published on Oct. 10, 2026, said the word “trauma” is increasingly being used casually in everyday conversations and on social media, and outlined what psychological trauma means and how it differs from stress.
What the doctor said about casual use of ‘trauma’
Dr Megha Agarwal said people often describe emotionally painful experiences as “trauma,” including difficult breakups, friendship fallouts, workplace stress and childhood experiences.
She gave examples of how the term is used in daily speech:
* “You have a bad day at work and say, ‘I have work trauma.’”
* “You have a difficult breakup and immediately call it relationship trauma.”...