“The wound is the place where the light enters you”
-Rumi
Are you experiencing any of the following?
- I can’t just “get over it”.
- “I can’t relax”.
- My mind goes from thought to thought and my body is tense.
- I feel numb and unable to feel.
- I feel overwhelmed with even the smallest task
- I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold/hot sweat.
- It’s hard to fall back asleep.
- I feel angry a lot of the time.
- It’s hard to control my temper.
- I overreact to things.
- Sometimes I feel like crying but I can’t.
- My concentration has gone out the window.
- I can’t even read a book or the newspaper.
- I’m supersensitive to sounds.
- I have physical pain I can’t find a reason for.
- I don’t care about sex anymore.
- I’ve lost my drive and passion.
- Why bother?
- I’ve lost interest in life.
- I couldn’t care less about the things that used to matter to me.
- The future doesn’t look good to me.
- I’m not as positive and optimistic as I used to be.
- I’ve lost confidence in myself.
- I can’t talk about what happened without getting overwhelmed.
- Am I ever going to get over this?
- My friends and family mean well, but they make me feel bad.
- If I could just snap out of it, I would.
- It’s hard to ask others for help.
- I just want my life back to the way it was before I just can’t cope with any more stress.
- I feel like I’m just barely holding it together.
- I keep seeing the traumatic event happening.
- I can’t remember certain details of the trauma.
- It’s hard to feel happy I survived when my friend didn’t.
Most people will experience trauma in their lifetime whether it’s exposure to the violence of war, a car accident, abuse or neglect, the sudden death of a loved one, a violent criminal act, or a natural disaster.
While some may recover from trauma over time with the love and support of family and friends and bounce back with resiliency, many others may discover effects of lasting trauma, which can cause a person to live with deep emotional pain, fear, confusion, or posttraumatic stress far after the event has passed.
In these circumstances, the support, guidance and assistance of a therapist is fundamental to healing from trauma.
Trauma Symptoms
Here are the four most common symptoms of trauma:
Avoidance Symptoms
- Avoiding specific locations, sights, situations, and sounds that serve as reminders of the event
- Anxiety, depression, numbness, or guilt
Re-experiencing Symptoms
- Intrusive thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks
Hyperarousal Symptoms
- Anger, irritability and hypervigilance
- Aggressive, reckless behavior, including self-harm
- Sleep disturbances
Negative Mood and Cognition Symptoms
- Loss of interest in activities that were once considered enjoyable
- Difficulty remembering details of the distressing event
- Change in habits or behavior since the trauma
- Blaming oneself
- Feeling detached from loved ones
- Unable to have loving feelings for those close to you
Research has proven psychotherapy to be the most effective form of treatment for trauma.
If any of the above symptoms resonate with you, I would be happy to be of help and invite you to contact me for an initial consultation.