Overwhelming
Trauma can be defined as “an inescapably stressful event that overwhelms one’s existing coping mechanisms.” When you are overwhelmed in this way you may have learned how to keep yourself safe, sometimes by freezing, sometimes by fighting, sometimes by escaping from the situation. If you couldn’t escape physically you may have escaped mentally by using your imagination, called dissociation. Days, months or even years later things may happen that immediately throw you back into those same feelings of fear and terror. Everyday necessary interactions may feel life threatening. In addition, the ways you responded in the past to keep yourself safe no longer work and are in fact disruptive to your every day life now. This is the life of someone suffering from unresolved trauma.
Types of Trauma
Traumatic events are relative. What may be manageable for one person may be traumatic for someone else. Some traumatic events are singular events that happen within a very limited timeframe. Some examples of singular traumatic events are:
* Natural Disasters (fires, floods, tornados, etc…)
* Technological Disasters (car or plan crashes, accidents,etc…)
* Criminal Violence (robbery, rape, homicide, etc…)
Some traumatic events are prolonged, often resulting in the most serious mental health problems. Examples of prolonged trauma are:
* War/Political Violence
* Human Rights Abuses
* Domestic Violence
* Child Abuse
* Sexual Abuse
* Physical/Emotional Abuse
* Witnessing others being abused
Symptoms of Trauma
Unresolved trauma can lead to predictable disruptions to one’s everyday life. Some of those symptoms are:
* Emotional numbness and detachment
* Inability to form close, satisfying relationships
* Sense of the world as a cold and dangerous place
* Hair trigger stress response (dizziness, pounding heart, nausea)
* Disturbing memories, nightmares, or flashbacks
* Sense of a foreshortened, limited future
Dissociation: Going Away In Your Head
Van der Kolk & Fister (1995), two specialists on the impact of trauma say “People who have learned to cope with trauma by dissociating are vulnerable to continue to do so in response to minor stresses. The continued use of dissociation as a way of coping with stress interferres with the capacity to fully attend to life’s ongoing challenges.”
Treatment & Recovery From Trauma
There are many effective treatments for resolving trauma. When working through traumatic events we may use a combination of cognitive therapy, EMDR, EFT, as well as mindfullness, spiritual exercises and psycho-educational approaches. If you would like to find out more about how I can help you through this process please call to schedule an appointment.