Trauma

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or CPTSD, doesn't spring up overnight.  That means that recovering from complex PTSD requires commitment. It’s terrible to acknowledge, but often, there are years of abuse and trauma involved. Emotional and physical scars probably make up a significant part of your history. Still, you are a survivor and there are solutions available for CPTSD recovery. These stages of trauma recovery are a kind of healing roadmap. And clients tell me that just having such a plan can provide reassurance and clarity that makes a big difference. Where once you experienced nightmares, flashbacks, and constant anxiety, there is [...]

Chronic pain, by definition, persists and lingers in the body. Suffering continues well after your injury heals or fades away. In fact, your brain and body register pain for months or even years after damage occurs. It is no huge leap then to conceive that complex PTSD and chronic pain go hand-in-hand. After all, the emotional pain that comes from suffering years or even decades of trauma also becomes stuck in the body. If it is not processed, the tension takes up residence in the nervous system. Over time, your unresolved past can become very present, debilitating physical pain. If you [...]

Resilience for trauma and PTSD treatment, as well as your own commitment to recovery, will serve you well as you look towards the future. Instead of feeling trapped in the past,  promoting resilience allows you to develop confidence and calm. In time, you can know for certain that if you do experience a trigger or distressing event, you have the tools to handle it. Consider how these three major benefits of resilience for trauma and PTSD treatment can help you. 1. Confidence in Your Capabilities One of the debilitating effects of trauma and PTSD is that you feel powerless. You were [...]

You may now be familiar with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing as a proven and helpful path to trauma recovery. Yet, you may still wonder," who is EMDR appropriate for?" As you may know, EMDR is a powerful therapeutic tool that harnesses the ability of your brain to adapt and heal. This is achieved through coaching from a therapist who helps you become calm and balanced through a process of simple back and forth eye movements combined with calming thoughts and visualization. This is then followed up with guidance toward thoughts, images, or memories for processing. In effect, this combination of activity [...]

No matter how hard you try, it seems impossible to get a good night’s sleep. Drifting off to sleep sounds like a fantasy. And staying asleep through the whole night is just too daunting.The reason is the nightmares connected to your PTSD nightmares that you experience each and every night. PTSD nightmares jar you, disturb you, and cause you a lot of fear. Maybe these sleep disturbances are also the reasons why you started drinking or using drugs because that at least helps you to fall asleep. However, you know that substance use has its own unhealthy repercussions. But what can you? It [...]

All too often the word used to describe people struggling with PTSD and complex PTSD (C-PTSD) is that they are “stuck.” Despite wanting to feel better, they find it tough to get good complex PTSD help.  Often this is because they are locked into a mindset that ultimately is not their fault. Rather, their brain has been hijacked due to years—and sometimes even decades—of trauma and abuse. They may be able to get through a week or two without experiencing any symptoms. However, a triggering moment suddenly brings them back to when they experienced their trauma. And all the worries, fears, and [...]

When you are a young child, or even a teen, you are not even remotely considering the long-term effects of bullying. You just want it to stop. Sadly, though, it often doesn't, and many children have to struggle daily with bullying—either in-person or online. Thus, adults need to seriously consider the mental health risk associated with childhood bullying. In particular, the risk for depression, substance abuse, and more when these children grow up. The impact can be devastating. Consider some of the factors that play a role in the long-term effects of bullying. Depression According to the U.S. Government’s website stopbullying.gov, [...]

When it comes to resolving complex trauma, many factors are at work. So if you want to progress working with complex PTSD therapist is vital. Individually, each symptom you have might not seem like much, such as getting a little nervous when you are in a car. However, collectively, complex trauma creates systems that are like strings that are all tangled up. And that make it very hard to heal. At the root of complex trauma is a history of emotional and/or physical trauma. And some of the symptoms you face have have plagued you for many years. To recover and [...]

How can you understand the effects of childhood neglect and abuse? Most people have heard of the saying “time heals all wounds.” It's meant to imply that healing from trauma is possible with space and distance from those events. This might actually be true in some circumstances. A little time might be all that you need to recover from a painful life setback such as an ugly breakup or an accident. However, the ramifications of childhood neglect and abuse go much deeper. In fact, if left unaddressed, the effects of childhood abuse do not get better with time at all. Rather, [...]

EMDR stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing". Therapists have been using EMDR to treat trauma since the late 1980's.  It is offered to patients in private practice and in institutional settings like clinics, residential treatment programs and hospitals. It's a evidence based form of trauma therapy that is that is widely known. In fact, thousands of research studies support it's clinical efficacy. But what about other symptoms? Can EMDR be used for other issues besides trauma? The short answer is yes. And here is a bit of an explanation. EMDR therapy tends to help you in 2 ways.  First, it [...]