Trauma
Whether you have experienced a shock trauma such as a car accident or a fire or a natural disaster or have experienced early childhood trauma such as neglect, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse I can help, using my training in EMDR therapy. (www.emdria.org)
Many times trauma symptoms present themselves in unexpected ways. It can show up as depression or anxiety, a feeling of unease, difficulty in relationships or even somatic symptoms such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome. Here are some common ways that trauma symptoms show up in every day life:
• difficulty sleeping
• jumpiness, startling easily or hyper-vigilance
• intrusive memories that sometimes seem as real as life
• depression
• dullness, a feeling of disconnection
• difficulty with decision making
• anxiety
• racing thoughts and difficulty with concentration
• guilty thoughts and feelings
• paranoia
• difficulty with needing to have things just so
• fear of others
• difficulty letting the memories fade from an incident
• irritable bowel syndrome
• chronic pain
• fibromyalgia
• extreme allergies
There are also many things that can cause trauma symptoms, I have a list here, some would be expected and others many people find surprising.
• car accidents
• natural disasters
• falls
• combat
• witnessing an incident when people were hurt or killed
• animal attacks
• surgery
• difficult births
• childhood abuse
• rape
• being separated from a parent or parents at a young age
• spousal or intimate partner abuse
• dental procedures
• swimming accidents
• incidents in which your body felt trapped
If you find yourself wondering if trauma has been impacting your current functioning in day to day life, I’d love to talk to you more about that and walk you through the journey of healing.