Healing Trauma
“As traumatized children, we always dreamed that someone would come and save us.
We never dreamed that it would, in fact, be ourselves as adults.”
–Alice Little
Maybe it wasn’t that long ago…
…or it may have happened years back.
Either way, it colors everything you see and do.
Do you feel like you should be over it by now? The memories linger under the surface, getting triggered in the most aggravating ways.
It comes out in your dreams…
Sometimes you’re fine, and then you think about what happened for one microsecond. You thought you snuffed it out before it fully activated you, but your subconscious held onto it, turned it, twisted it, or just flat-out started the movie for you to relive those horrible memories.
You woke up exhausted, anxious, angry, or sad the next day. It feels like a weight that you can sometimes shift and not feel the full weight of. Then you move the wrong way, and it’s right there on your chest again.
You find yourself getting angry…
There are days when you feel like everything and everyone is a threat. You’re on edge, can’t sleep, can’t eat. Or perhaps you’re resentful because the person the hurt came from is still very much involved in your life and doesn’t see how their actions affected you.
Maybe it’s gotten you in trouble in some way or scared people away who felt safe to you. It’s so exhausting, yet it happens in a split second and feels out of your control.
It’s affecting your relationships…
Intimacy feels dangerous. You want a genuine, safe, nurturing connection but always push everyone away. You take a break, find someone else eventually and convince yourself that this time will be different, but it never is.
Sabotaging relationships just seems to keep happening because no one feels safe enough to rely on them, even if they really are.
You have trouble focusing…
Being on edge, losing sleep, not eating properly, and stressing about relationships, work, or school makes concentrating on any task difficult.
There’s always something that needs to be done. But despite your best intentions, many of them aren’t getting taken care of. Or if they are, the memories and emotions are running through your mind like background music, and you can’t turn them off.
It’s hard to feel safe…
Not feeling safe looks like so many things. Double and triple checking that the door is locked. Jumping up when you hear a noise at night.
Keeping people at a safe emotional distance. Leaving jobs when they get even a little bit stressful.
Trauma comes in all different shapes and sizes.
For some, it’s a car accident, injury, or seeing someone else get hurt.
For others, it’s because they were hurt in some way: verbally, physically, or sexually.
Or it might not have been anything that overt. Maybe you grew up in a family where you were loved when you were happy and doing well, but they got frustrated and angry when you struggled. As a result, you learned to hide your hurt.
When you go through trauma, it leaves a mental, emotional, and biological mark, making it feel like everything in your present could be a threat.
If you’re struggling with past pain…
We’re here to give you hope.
We know how to heal the hurts and help you let go of the burdens and old ways of being you’ve carried for far too long.
And if something has just happened and you’re still processing it, we’re good in a crisis, too.
Trauma may change the way your brain works… but so does processing your emotions. That’s what healing is all about.
Here’s what we’ll do…
The first thing we’ll do is join you where you are.
We don’t have agendas. We are curious explorers treading carefully and looking for the best path. When you feel safe, heard, and seen, we start looking at what’s happened to you, where you’ve been, and what you’ve seen. We introduce you to new techniques to help you self-soothe, and we use the ones you already have in new ways. Gathering resources is a critical part of all trauma work.
As we continue, we get to know all the parts of your system The anxiety, the rage, the dissociation, the hurt; each of these parts of you have a voice. Sometimes, our feelings can be so overwhelming, it feels like they’re drowning us. Our thoughts can be so loud, that it’s hard to hear them over all the noise. We will use techniques that help slow the sensations down enough to understand the supports your system is asking you for. This part is like training for a marathon. Each mile builds upon the next until you reach a state of readiness that each part of your system agrees to.
If and when you decide it’s time, using EMDR therapy can be one of the best tools for trauma, but it’s not the only one on the menu. There are many ways to unburden you from the intensity of feelings that may have weighed you down for far too long.
Wherever we go, we go together at a pace that works for you. Once we start doing the work of trauma therapy, we’re freeing you from the past, grounding you to the present, and using your resources and strengths to give you the strength to heal.
Healing lifts the weight, and that’s what we do best.
Going to therapy is a huge step, and it’s not something we take lightly.
If you’re still unsure or have questions about the process, you can always contact us for a free phone consultation at (786) 401-5603.
We’re here when you’re ready.