Out-of-range inputs, analog vs digital systems, and psychological trauma

An argument I've gotten into several times on the internet regards why psychological trauma occurs. There's a common idea you see that psychological trauma consists of some sort of damage to the brain's system, the result of an input that is simply too far out of range in some regard (too negative-valance, e.g.). I have often replied that this can't be right -- for one thing, out-of-range inputs…