Trauma – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Trauma has many impacts – none are good.

Traumatic experiences can leave us stuck, overwhelmed, and isolated. And sometimes, it can be confusing why an event triggers our emotions, why we can so quickly shift into another mood or state, and why we can’t just move on and “let it go.”

Those who experience trauma and the resulting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) face myriad challenges that can be debilitating and overwhelming.

Trauma can cause emotional and physical symptoms that you carry through life. Suffering from trauma is like a never-ending cycle that makes life challenging.

Various experiences can create trauma.

Relational abuse, family background trauma, addiction, or feeling out of control can impact your day-to-day functions. Being overwhelmed with emotions, anxiety, and harmful thoughts often results from a traumatic event.

Suffering from depression or anxiety can numb you to things around you. It’s easy to become irritable with people and then feel ashamed.

Prevalent panic attacks, nightmares, or flashbacks often result from trauma. That can extend to hyper-vigilance, relationship difficulty, and mistrust of others.

Trauma also can lead to eating disorders, addiction, and even thoughts of suicide and self-harm.

Relationships become a casualty.

You’re back to swiping on dating apps again because this last one didn’t work. It has to be them; they changed up too quickly.

“They mentioned it was because I constantly texted, called, and wanted to be around them. That is what you do when you like someone, right? They weren’t for me if they can’t accept that.”

But blaming others for relationship failures doesn’t solve the problem.

Some previous feedback you’ve received indicated that you’re too clingy and have mistrust, even though they have done nothing to trigger a red flag.

Now that you’re thinking about it, you don’t trust. Why? This lack of trust always comes up and makes life difficult. You say, “I can’t delegate tasks at work because people won’t do them right, will they?”

Excuses are your answer to the problem. “All people cheat, and I want to get ahead of it to ensure it doesn’t happen – my anxiety peaks when they go anywhere without me. I don’t trust them, and I start a fight to get the attention back on us. Fighting is something couples do at times; it must be.”

The constant worry and trying to keep someone around are exhausting.

“Why would anyone want to be with me anyways? Not even my parents stuck around for me. If they couldn’t and didn’t want to love me, why would anyone else? I’m always going to be alone, and I’m worthless.”

Becoming aware is the first step toward healing.

Sometimes, we may be aware of our trauma and its effects, but often it’s not until another event triggers it that we become aware. You are not alone, there is hope, and you can regain your life.

My approach is to work collaboratively with you to establish safety and stability. We will work together on understanding triggers, creating mindfulness, regulating emotions, and creating meaning to help you cope with and resolve trauma’s symptoms.

I focus on your strengths and help you identify and strengthen them so you can regain control of life.

Through therapy, you can re-establish a sense of safety, connectedness to the world, and control and strength.

Take the time to reach out for a free 15-minute phone consultation. It could be the best 15 minutes you ever spend investing in yourself.