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Clinical Psychologist

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Trauma

Have you experienced a traumatic event and are unable to stop thinking about it? Are you unable to get a full night sleep due to nightmares? Do you startle easily? Are you avoiding people, places, and things because you fear re-experiencing the traumatic event? Are you self-medicating to calm your nerves? Do you sometimes feel numb or detached from others or your surroundings?

 
Many of us at some point in our lives have experienced some kind of trauma. It may be observable trauma such as abuse (physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional) or a traumatic event such as a near death experience, sexual assault, witnessing harm to another person, military combat, or even an accident.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition may occur after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event that causes feelings of helplessness, and intense fear in which they feel that their life or the life someone close to them is in danger. PTSD symptoms can start right after the event or it can occur months or even years later. Sometimes people with PTSD may experience. 

Re-experiencing:

  • Nightmares

  • Flashbacks


Avoidance of:

  • People, places, or activities that remind you of the traumatic event

  • Thoughts, feelings, or conversations

  • Feeling of detachment from others


Increased arousal:

  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep

  • Irritability or angry outbursts

  • Hyper vigilance

  • Startle easily


 
However, some trauma is very subtle and occurs over time such as hearing messages that you are unworthy, unlovable, not good enough, or a bad person. If these negative messages are heard and received over a period of time they can become internalized and one can then begin to believe that these negative messages are true. 

 Working with a skilled therapist can help people with trauma in their history to begin to become more aware and identify thoughts and feelings that surround events of the past and learn to accept who they are in the present. With effective therapy you can stop being controlled by your fear or old messages that are no longer useful or helpful.

Please call or email today to set up a free initial consultation to see if therapy may be helpful to you.