Trauma Therapy
Trauma Therapy may be appropriate for you if you've experienced a negative event that still effects you today.
Are you still suffering the affects of an event that happened a while ago?
Have you experienced something that keeps you from being the person you used to be? Do you have more stress, irritability or anger than you did prior to the event? Has it left you feeling depressed or hopeless? Have you lost sleep at night or experienced disturbing nightmares? Maybe you feel like you are re-living it, you're anxious, paranoid or on edge when that kind of thing is totally unnecessary? Do you feel guilt and shame even though everyone tells you it wasn't your fault?
Trauma (big or small) can completely change your everyday experience, and leave you feeling like life will never be the same. Highly emotional events, of any kind, can stick with you for years to come. The negative effects of trauma can disrupt your ability to emotionally regulate, sleep, eat or participate in every-day activities. In an attempt to avoid re-exposing yourself to the trauma, you may try to “bury” the emotional pain. You later find it spilling out, as emotional instability or detachment in other areas of your life, such as work, school or relationships .
The effects of trauma suck.
You're not alone
Really, you're not. Most everyone will experience some form of trauma in their lifetime. Many traumatic experiences are seemingly small or common, so people write them off as normal or just “hard times”. For instance; divorce, losing a job, divorce of your parents, separation from a caregiver, verbal abuse, incarceration, medical procedures, and car accidents. Over half of US citizens will actually experience a major trauma in their lifetime. Most everyone will experience the loss of a loved one at some point.
Trauma that occurs in childhood or during the teenage years, if left untreated, often affects people into adulthood. You will find many people around you experiencing chronic anxiety, depression, stress, fatigue, anger management issues or insomnia, yet they are unaware of the connection between their past experiences and current distress. Experiencing a traumatic event without the side effect of unwanted psychological or emotional distress is rare.
Lastly, some populations, naturally experience much higher rates of trauma due to their job duties. Some examples are first responders or military personnel.
Trauma can be devastating, and if left untreated can sometimes affect a person for decades to come. Fortunately, there are evidenced based interventions for trauma that can decrease your level of disturbance surrounding the traumatic event and help you get your life back on track. One of my favorites is EMDR.
You Don't Have to Keep Feeling This Way
Even if you believe your trauma is too big for help or you are "too far gone", with trauma therapy and dedication to your future, change is possible. It is possible to feel lighthearted, happy, integrated, and at peace again. You have the ability to heal your past and walk away stronger and wiser.