Traumatic Event Therapy
Traumatic experience can come in theoretically any form. Any event or experience that traumatizes or leaves a lasting negative impression on an individual can be considered traumatic, and every traumatic experience should be treated as such. Trauma can come in the form of any situation in which a person feels emotionally, physically, or psychologically threatened by someone or something happening to or around them. While almost everyone experiences a traumatic event at one point or another, these experiences affect everyone differently. This makes trauma therapy a crucial element of trauma recovery.
With trauma recovery counseling, anyone who has gone through a traumatic experience can share their fears, feelings, and the lasting impacts of their experience in an open, neutral, and safe environment. Because we know that every traumatic experience and everyone’s experience with trauma is different, we don’t try to group everyone suffering from the effects of trauma into one “category” or type of trauma. Instead, we confront individual patients’ emotional and psychological needs, exploring and learning about that traumatic experience in order to helping everyone recovery from their own traumatic experiences in their own time through individualized trauma recovery. At The International Center for the Attainment of Love and Joy, it’s our mission to establish a foundation for individual growth, helping you recover from your trauma and helping you lead a happier, healthier life, free of emotional, physical, and psychological turmoil.
Understanding Common Traumatic Experiences
Although not every traumatic experience is that same, and not everyone suffers from the same experience in the same ways, it’s important for our patients and psychologists to understand the common causes of trauma, or common traumatic experiences. Understanding the common causes of trauma can go a long way toward helping you feel less alone in your trauma recovery, helping you see that you’re not the first, or the last, to feel the way you do. Common traumatic experiences may include:
- Car accidents
- Death of a loved one
- Violent crimes
- Domestic violence
- Sexual abuse
- Child abuse or neglect
- Violent acts of war
- Natural disasters
Sudden changes that “uproot” your sense of self or belonging
If you’ve been affected by a traumatic experience, whether it’s included in these common causes of trauma or not, it’s important to always remember that you’re not alone in your trauma or your trauma recovery. We will be there every step of the way to help you confront your trauma and heal effectively so that you can move forward without having to look back on your pain.
What is PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder)?
Posttraumatic stress disorder, often called PTSD, is the result of severely traumatic experiences that have negative emotional, psychological, and physical ramifications. When you feel threatened during a traumatic experience, whether that threat be to your body or your mind, you may have trouble forgetting and moving on from that experience. This often results in flashbacks, depression, paranoia and hypervigilance, general anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. PTSD is a condition that is often associated with veterans of war, typically those who have difficulty re-assimilating into their lives following their military service. However, PTSD does not only develop in war veterans, and it can vary in its severity based on its symptoms.
Symptoms of PTSD
Diagnosing PTSD is a matter of evaluating symptoms associated with PTSD and determining whether they can be linked to one traumatic experience or several traumatic events that are connected in an individual’s mind. Some symptoms of PTSD may include:
Flashbacks – These can be in the form of hallucinations, traumatic “day dreams,” or nightmares.
Psychological unrest – Psychological changes and feelings of unrest can create several negative feelings within those suffering from PTSD, including: depression, suicidal thoughts, guilt (sometimes in the form of “survivor’s guilt”), anger, anxiety, sleep disruption, and numbness.
Negative behaviors – Aggression, recklessness, paranoia and hypervigilance, suicidal attempts or self-harm.
Avoiding reminders of a traumatic experiences – Avoiding locations, situations, sights, sounds, and people are common among those suffering from PTSD.
Confronting Traumatic Experiences with Individual Trauma Recovery
Recovering from a traumatic experience, especially when dealing with posttraumatic stress, can seem like an impossible feat. If you or someone you know is suffering from PTSD or the ramifications of a traumatic experience, though, seeking trauma recovery counseling can only help improve your quality of life and help you on your journey to a joy-filled life. At the start, overcoming traumatic events takes just one step – the decision to move forward. Once you’ve made that choice and decided that you want to recover from your trauma, you can begin the process of confronting and sharing your traumatic experience, understanding why your experience left you with lasting trauma, and how you can move forward without spending your life looking backward.
To begin your PTSD recovery or traumatic experience therapy, call us today at 763-572-2326 or toll-free at 877-572-2326, or email .