What is trauma?
We all experience or witness bad, stressful, distressing, disturbing, and painful experiences in our lives. While it’s never fun to go through (or watch) a physical or emotional trauma, most of the time we get through it, move on, and feel like ourselves after a period of time.
But that doesn’t always happen. Some experiences are so heavy, or sometimes you’ve experienced so many little traumas in your life that your body hits a breaking point and it just doesn’t seem to “bounce back” in the way that it once did.
When your body gets “stuck” that trauma can change the way you function and process the world, making you feel constantly on edge and lead you to avoiding people, places, or things you used to love. You may feel a ton of fear or anxiety. You may have a hard time sleeping or staying asleep. You may have nightmares when you do sleep. You may mentally “check out” when something reminds you of the experience. You may feel like you can’t escape the memories.
Sometimes it’s really obvious that what you experienced led to feeling stressed, “off,” or not yourself. Other times, you aren’t sure why you feel the way you do, but you know this isn’t how you used to be, and you don’t want to feel like this forever.
Want some good news? Research also shows that therapy can help. Whether you just aren’t feeling like yourself, or you have Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), working with a counselor can help you process those experiences and help you put them behind you as walk into your future.
How can I help?
There are a lot of effective ways to address trauma and help you process what happened, to help you feel better. Exactly what’s best for you depends on your personality and the traumatic experience you’ve had. My job is to get to know you and find what works for you. There are many effective options for working through trauma, including cutting-edge techniques that don’t require talking about the trauma you experienced in detail.
Don’t spend even one more day suffering alone. Reach out today for a free, 15-minute consultation.