Trauma, in the concise definition of the word, relates to exposure to a life threatening encounter or injury to self or others, in response to personal survival due to stress or terror. However, the definition also can be broadened to include individuals exposed to violations of trust by people or institutions in which you depended upon them for survival (physically or emotionally). With the onset of the trauma, the victim is rendered helpless by overwhelming force. In addition, they probably also experienced fear, loss of control, and threat of annihilation (the complete destruction of themselves or others). Traumatic experiences include, but are not limited to: physical/ sexual/ emotional abuse from persons in authority or power (such as parents/relatives, known or unknown individuals, dates, therapists, teachers, lawyers, doctors, babysitters), war veterans, vehicle crash victims, victims of disasters.

Trauma ranges from a single, one time event, to abuse that has occurred repeatedly over days, weeks, months and what may feel like a lifetime. As you might expect, the more chronic or multiple traumatic experiences you have had to endure, the more difficult it is to overcome. Also, the younger you began to experience the trauma, the more devastating the effects.

Trauma reactions happen when there is no action, help, or support available. Traumatic events overwhelm the human psyche in areas of control, connection and trust. They produce psychological, emotional, cognitive, and memory changes of the individual that lasts long after the actual danger is over. Responses to your traumatic experiences may feel abnormal or like you are going crazy. Although your reactions may feel unusual, or like no one else could understand why you do the things you do or feel the way you do, they may be typical to many people who have endured a traumatic event. After a traumatic experience some reactions you may feel include:

• hyperarousal-feeling like you are on permanent alert to the danger that may be right around the corner and/or heightened startle reaction
• sense of self is shattered
• feelings of depression, anxiety, fear, anger, guilt, shame
• isolation
• inability to trust
• nightmares, sleep disturbances
• vigilance or compulsive routines
• intrusive thoughts, fragmented thoughts
• body memories
• re-enacting or putting self at risk for re-enactment of the trauma

Your trauma and reactions are unique to you and your healing journey will also be unique to you. People who have endured the horrible and devastating effects of a traumatic encounter suffer from a varied spectrum of emotional pain. Some people can reconstruct the history of their past circumstances of what happened in a meaningful way and have the ability to adapt to the trauma. Others have difficulty putting the fragments of memory together just to acknowledge that something happened.

There are so many violations to our sense of self and spirit these days, and at times they may feel overwhelmingly difficult to think about, much less speak. One fairly normal coping mechanism to trauma is amnesia or forgetting all or part of the experience. No matter how much we wish the memory of the trauma would be forgotten, it is stored in your body on a cellular level. The trauma wants to get out, to be processed in a healthy manner and released. However if it does not get released, many times you will have reoccurring traumatic events, as if the original trauma had a voice crying out, “Look at me! Look at what happened and how I have impacted your life and continue to impact it!” When keeping the secrecy of the event(s) becomes so strong, the story may come out as a symptom instead of dealing with what really occurred. These symptoms may manifest themselves by repeated victimizations, illnesses, loss of relationships, accidents, divorces, dreams/nightmares, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders or other ways your mind/body/spirit is trying to get your attention. The conflict is whether to deny the trauma and the impact of it on your life, or talk about it. But when the truth of what happened starts to be acknowledged and shared, the healing can actually begin. Rebuilding some minimal form of trust with connections to other is essential.

Trauma work is about healing and restoring connections first to yourself, then to close relationships and eventually the community. Whether you have been directly traumatized, or have been exposed to the atrocities of another’s trauma, there is help available. Come on in. You don’t need to carry this burden alone. I look forward to working together.

I invite you to call me at 303-514-4732 for a free consultation.