yeah, i think it is real. trauma is a complex psychological problem.... sometimes it makes you think "this is the same situation as before!!" but it's not really, and then you feel dumb for freaking out over nothing. then when you ARE in a similar situation, you gaslight yourself and say "no, last time i freaked out over nothing, i'm sure this is also nothing" but this time you're wrong, too. and sometimes you put yourself in a similar situation on purpose, just to see if you can control the situation this time or have a different reaction or maybe it'll turn out that there's still decent human beings in this world -- and if those things are all true, then it's a healing experience and if they're not true, then it's a retraumatizing experience.
trauma just straight fucks with your perception of reality and your decision-making ability, so traumatized ppl end up making choices that seem totally nonsensical.
all that being said, i don't think ALL of these traumatized MCs are that realistic, authors just be throwing trauma in there to move the plot along w/out doing any research
if you're curious, check my read list, i have a tag called "realistic depiction of trauma" for when i think the author does it well. obviously TW on that whole tag, it's a lot of rly sad stories
That kind of situation has psychological explanation. One could be the familiarity of the trauma. Some people who have trauma feels familiar (consciously or unconsciously) with the trauma pattern that's why the likelihood of repeating the same trauma is highly likely because they feel familiar about it and can't help but seek that kind of pattern as they try to heal. Even if they knew its gonna lead to worse, people with trauma can't help but seek that familiarity because they feel comforted with the past.(This is usually true with people who has no healthy coping mechanisms and ends up going back to the trauma pattern). Another factor to take into consideration is their defense mechanisms, some with trauma unconsciously forgets parts of their traumatic experiences to alleviate the pain and suffering they went through. That's why they crave to try retrieving those memories only to find themselves trapped in their trauma pattern.
Some authors do portray trauma as like a lackey to keep the story have more depth that's why it's quite unrealistic and sometimes questionable but trauma is really complicated and a painful experience. To be honest, it's near impossible to treat traumas specially major traumas(PTSD) , they have to deal with it until it just becomes a memory.
It’s really common for the mc to go through traumas caused by various people, and they just have less of a visceral reaction to whatever bs the main love interest did. In a lot of cases it’s less about portraying a realistic or consistent character, but tailoring their responses to certain situations to further the plot or depict the primary love interest in a comparatively flattering light
No offense meant here okay. I just have this kind of observation from majority of the stories I read that starts with one of the MC's having a trauma. It's like they're kind of defensive and close, but at the same time naive. Like they know what is the things that they should avoid to not repeat the same situation that gives them the trauma. But at the same time, get themselves in a situation where they might repeat the same situation as before? I dunno, I just want to have any clarifications regarding this. Is it a real thing?