Trauma wears many faces. It can be abandonment by a parental figure from a young age that left you feeling like you’re a burden or unlovable, sexual abuse/assault, physical or verbal abuse from a loved one, combat overseas, or even not being in combat and laying witness to the horrors of war.
Trying to cope with the pain of these experiences isn’t easy. Perhaps you go on dates but feel nervous or scared that you might find yourself in a dangerous situation. Or maybe you’re irritable or angry at work, and the guilt you’re experiencing is projecting anger onto people you love and care about in your life. Feeling trapped because you don’t do what you need to do to feel better (even if you know what those things are!).
Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.
Trauma experienced when young affects the mental well-being of individuals throughout life. If you are wondering, “Is this kind of therapy right for me?” and you have experienced trauma in your life, the answer is a resounding yes.
Trauma therapy may include learning new self-care skills, including setting boundaries with loved ones, taking quiet time for yourself, and learning new coping skills. Trauma therapy will teach you new ways to calm and soothe yourself when this happens.
Traditional talk therapy won’t work for many with PTSD because they don’t have access to the prefrontal cortex where that kind of therapy is effective.
Trauma is usually stuck in the lower parts of our brain, and we must first calm down that part of the brain if we’re ever to reach that top part where we can think clearly and rationally about the events and make the changes we so desperately want.
So, when treating trauma, we take a bottom-up (rather than a top-down) approach. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Somatic Experiencing, and mindfulness are examples of these bottom-up approaches.
We’re living, working, and trying to relax all in the same space. So, online therapy makes sense. But maybe you’ve wondered… “Is teletherapy as effective as in-person therapy? Won’t it be awkward and impersonal?” You’re not alone there. I used to have the same questions. But research has shown that teletherapy is just as effective as in-person services in most cases. And it has benefits that traditional in-office therapy doesn’t have.
You feel overwhelmed, lost, and hopeless. You’re struggling to get back to your “normal self” or having trouble working through things on your own. But what if you could evolve into something even better than your previous normal self and use the crappy stuff you’ve been dealing with to grow into an even stronger and more amazing version of yourself?
Wondering where all the romance went? Or feeling stuck in a relationship where “taking breaks” and the “silent treatment” just aren’t working? Maybe you’re feeling like your intimacy or sex life is stale? Maybe there’s been infidelity? Or maybe you just need a higher level of understanding and communication? There are many reasons to seek couples counseling. Whatever the reason, know that you are not alone.
"Getting better" means different things for different people. There are many different treatment options for PTSD. For many people, these treatments can get rid of symptoms altogether. Others find they have fewer symptoms or feel that their symptoms are less intense. Your symptoms don't have to interfere with your everyday activities, work, and relationships.
It’s natural to have some symptoms of anxiety after a dangerous event, but they usually go away after a few weeks. This is called Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). When symptoms last for several weeks and become an ongoing problem, it might be PTSD. Sometimes PTSD symptoms don’t appear for weeks or months after traumas.
PTSD affects memories associated with the trauma, but it can also limit the mind's ability to store, recall and create other memories. Memories occurring after the trauma may be hazy, have gaps or be lost altogether. It can suddenly become difficult to find familiar places or remember important names, dates and experiences.
Trauma literally means “wound, injury, or shock.” In psychological terms, “traumatic events” have traditionally been considered those that harm the psychological integrity of an individual. A given stressful event is not traumatic in itself, but may be so in its effect on a particular individual. Thus not every individual who experiences an extremely stressful event will actually be traumatized, although some types of events are so extreme that they are likely to be traumatizing to most people.
A traumatic event is a sudden, terrible, overwhelming event. It might be an unexpected death, a suicide attempt by a friend or family member, a physical or sexual assault, another act or threat of violence, the onset of a significant illness, an accident, or a natural disaster such as a hurricane or fire. It might be something that happens to us; it might be something that happens to a person we know or care about, or it might be something we witness.