There are. This was one of the first hits from searching "What are examples of traumatic events" (
https://keltymentalhealth.ca/post-traumatic-stress-disorder)
- domestic or family violence, dating violence
- community violence (shooting, mugging, burglary, assault, bullying)
- sexual or physical abuse
natural disaster such as a hurricane, flood, fire or earthquake
- a serious car accident
-sudden unexpected or violent death of someone close (suicide, accident)
- serious injury (burns, dog attack)
- major surgery or life-threatening illness (childhood cancer)
- war or political violence (civil war, terrorism, refugee)
I'd add to this a few more:
- chronic negligence, either from the self, community, or family (if someone's treated like an outcast and/or isn't regularly meeting their needs)
- persistent threat to resources (food/job/housing insecurity)
- witnessing trauma
- psychosocial or cultural enslavement (choosing to hold and/or act on beliefs that don't contribute to making life more wonderful for all life, capitalism)
I'm sure there are others. I find it helpful to keep an open mind about trauma and how to define it. I personally consider being born into a capitalistic society without being given the explicit option to enjoy life without direct participation in capitalism to be traumatizing, to some degree. Same goes for being born into a government that doesn't allow for peacefully revoking consent to be governed at any time for any reason. Both can lead to automatic and largely unconscious complicity in violent systems. I think realizing my participation in such systems was traumatic, as well as the responses I get from people when I talk about it. Just today, our landlord told us that because we have a friend staying with us and helping out with our newborn, we need to pay an extra $50/month. Their reason for the added rent is explicitly and purely out of disagreement with how we live our lives and their projections on our friend as being homeless. We've already dealt with this sort of nonsense, so we've grown through the trauma of having loved ones (and, yes, we love our landlords) try to punish us for our way of life or shame us into changing. Most people haven't and this could've easily been an event that feeds into a cycle of housing insecurity or social exclusion.
Basically, did one or more of someone's need go unmet/denied in a big way or for a long time? Probably trauma.
I don't think there's harm in assuming trauma when there isn't any, as long as the reason for doing so is to heal from it, which includes forgiving all those involved and finding gratitude for the event because I learned to better identify & meet my needs from it. If assuming trauma to judge others, I'd stop and reflect on why that is; there's likely a different trauma in myself that's been activated leading me to want to lash out at others. Often times, like when I've realized ways I contributed to systems of violence, the prescription that helps with that kind of trauma is mourning/grieving.
I've also heard therapists say "It was trauma if you say it was," meaning it's up to the individual to determine the impact of something. Unfortunately, this can lead to denial when someone carries a default of judging others as good/bad. A friend grew up being whipped harshly by their dad and strapped into their bed at night against their will. This had a lasting impression on them emotionally & they wouldn't admit to it, possibly because they heavily subscribed to black-and-white thinking & viewing their parents as having traumatized them would've required labeling people they love as bad. I suspect this is one reason why so much trauma goes unreported: people have mindsets that promote denial. Acceptance is a key to healing from trauma for this reason.