Rainbow my friend...
big T traumas (e.g. involving narrow escape fromdeath your own or others)
little t traumas (say, abandonment - HUGELY traumatic to a small child but not life threatening per se... also put in this category the various types of abuse, verbal and all the rest, many changes of address, foster home situations, etc etc etc etc)

when little t traumas add up, or extend over a period of years, for example as they do in alcoholic families, there is a cumulative effect.

You might read Judith Herman's book Trauma and Recovery; she agrees, big T trauma, PTSD, combat trauma, are all same - trauma is trauma. And Van der Kolk adds that "little t trauma" extending through the developmental years is more profoundly impactful than anyone has ever realized. Developmental PTSD... wow.

The thing about having to admit it in your own FOO is... it unties the rope your childhood was secured by, and you can feel like you're drifting over a waterfall - this is where I am in T right now - and until I can accept what really was, I will never really know who I am. I know who I told them I was, who I told myself I was, who I say I am today; but there is something more and it's very scary. This is turning out to be the hardest ride of my life.

Hugs to you my friend