“It takes enormous trust and courage to allow yourself to remember.”
― Bessel van der Kolk
Trauma + Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Trauma refers to the emotional and psychological response to an event or series of events that are deeply distressing or disturbing. It can stem from various experiences, such as abuse, accidents, natural disasters, and witnessing violence. Additionally, trauma can result from more subtle, chronic experiences like emotional neglect, ongoing discrimination, or bullying. The impact of trauma is highly individual, as what may be traumatic for one person might not be for another. This variance depends on several factors, including personal history, support systems, and individual resilience.
There are different types of trauma that you can experience:
Acute trauma - trauma resulting from a single, isolated incident, such as a car accident or a sudden loss.
Chronic trauma - involves repeated and prolonged exposure to distressing events, such as domestic violence or abuse.
Complex trauma - is the exposure to multiple, interrelated forms of severe events over a long period of time. These incidents are often invasive and interpersonal, such as racism and chronic neglect.
SYMPTOMS OF TRAUMA: The symptoms of trauma can have a wide-ranging impact and affect an individual's physical, emotional, and cognitive functions. Many common symptoms of trauma include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the traumatic event. Trauma can affect someone physically, emotionally, and even cognitively.
Physically - trauma can lead to insomnia, fatigue, or hyperarousal, which is a state of being constantly on alert.
Emotionally - individuals may experience intense feelings of fear, anger, sadness, or shame.
Cognitively - this can include difficulties with concentration, memory problems, and an overwhelming sense of doom.
Sometimes people can resolve these symptoms on their own and recover quickly. Other times, if these symptoms are left untreated for long periods, it can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
These symptoms can be distressing and overwhelming, but I can help.
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Evidenced-based trauma-focused therapy such as EMDR or Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is significantly effective in reducing distressing symptoms related to PTSD or Complex-PTSD
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During your initial consultation I will conduct a thorough assessment to evaluate your history and symptoms.
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**This list is not exhaustive and may be triggering for some.
I've seen clients heal from rape, loss of a child, sexual assault/abuse, childhood trauma, child abuse, domestic violence, religious abuse, racial trauma, genocide, medical trauma, and narcissistic abuse to name a few.