Trauma
Trauma can sometimes be hard to define. It is completely subjective to the person who experiences the traumatic moments, and even in that subjectivity the events can feel big or small, while still having an impactful imprint on the person. Personally, I like to define trauma as an experience that we haven't been able to "digest" on our own; moments that are somehow still lingering with us, maybe even influencing how we interact with the world on a daily basis. Clinically, trauma is defined as an event in which there is a perceived or actual threat of death or physical harm. Additionally, this threat is either witnessed or done personally do you. My definition is broadened from the clinical definition to include neglect and emotional abuse, as well as other events that typically do not feel "life-threatening" but are just as emotionally damaging.
Generally speaking, there are pretty tell-tale signs of trauma that I look for and that might be helpful for you to know about as well. These symptoms include intrusive thoughts about the trauma and rumination over the events, feeling as though the trauma is still occurring at times usually in the form of flashbacks, nightmares and other sleep disturbances, a change in eating habits, avoiding specific places or people, a change in your typical mood, irritability and outbursts of anger, as well as being jumpy and scared easily. While these are the most common symptoms people experience with trauma, yours might be different. It is important to note that every response to trauma is normal.
Trauma and trauma memories are different than other experiences and memories. The difference lies in the way that our brain handles and stores traumatic incidents versus normal everyday experiences. When we experience a traumatic moment, the normal firings in our brain that help us create logic and reason turn off. An area called the limbic system then turns on and begins to operate for you. The limbic system is responsible for most of the functions that help us survive; heart rate, digestion, breathing, and the like. While the limbic system is helpful with survival, it can have a hard time "turning off" and going back to the reasoning and logic side of our brain. This lingering of the limbic system's engagement is what causes our trauma symptoms.
Typically, I prefer to engage in trauma work in therapy using EMDR. If you aren't a fan of this modality, that is completely ok. Thankfully trauma responds to many different types of work and I can assure you that we can find relief using another method together.
Lastly, I love working with trauma because trauma responds, moves, and is wants to interact with our brain-body system. Our brains are designed to work through trauma and to push towards healing and health. It really is hopeful work and I bring in this attitude to our sessions, excited that you will begin to feel hopeful yourself.
Additionally, there are many different kinds of trauma: relationship trauma, interpersonal violence, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, wartime traumas, single incident traumas, as well as complex trauma, just to name a few! If you are looking for deeper information regarding trauma feel free to call me to set up a time to talk about this important and pervasive topic.