Trauma & PTSD
Trauma is multi-faceted. It comes in all shapes and sizes and presents many different faces. There are the obvious traumas, like those experienced on the battlefield, being a victim of a violent crime, the loss of a loved one or a natural disaster (read: COVID-19 pandemic) that can result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Violent crime and abusive childhoods are other obvious forms of trauma. We call this “trauma with a big T.” Then there are the subtle forms of trauma, such as prolonged emotional abuse, chronic illness, childhood poverty, the loss of loved ones, untreated OCD, or a pervasive unease you can’t quite put your finger on. This is “trauma with a small t.”
Both types of trauma can have debilitating effects on the quality of life.
Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes, and can result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
The working definition of trauma is the emotional response to an event or an experience that is deeply distressing and persistent. The word trauma comes from the Greek word for injury, which is important to note. Psychological trauma is an injury that requires healing like any other injury. In general, trauma can be defined as a psychological, emotional response to an event or experience that is deeply distressing and often persistent.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is the best-known traumatic syndrome. For decades, PTSD has been coming home with our veterans with such increasing intensity and frequency that it now has a place in our mainstream vocabulary to describe any prolonged exposure to negative experiences. Fortunately, this commanded the attention of researchers and the medical community to develop effective treatments for PTSD in particular, and trauma in general.
How do flashbacks happen and why it is so important to recognize and heal trauma? We now have greater insight into the bio-mechanics of how the brain processes and stores traumatic experiences, The science shows us that disturbing experiences are processed and stored in the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for emotions (such as fear) and the mind-body connection (i.e. pain, hunger, sexual desire, desire for drugs and alcohol).
“EMDR works effectively to stimulate both hemispheres of the brain to reprocess traumatic information”
The Fear Factory. Unresolved trauma gets stuck in this ancient part of the brain, or as some researchers call it, “the fear factory,” where it can easily manifest into physical symptoms such as pain and addiction. Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing or EMDR works effectively to stimulate both hemispheres of the brain to reprocess traumatic information, moving it out of the amygdala and into areas of the brain where these memories are less disruptive. We now have the scientific research to back up the fact that psychological traumatic injury is not only a “real” physical condition, but that it can actually alter a person’s DNA and be passed down from one generation to the next.
If you are unsure that trauma is impacting you, or whether EMDR might help, here are some useful self-assessment questions courtesy of the EMDR Therapist Network:
1. Are you losing productivity at home or at work because of symptoms of anxiety?
2. Are you still feeling depressed or lonely, despite the practice of positive thinking? Are you angry all the time, and don't know why?
3. Are you frustrated that the "real you" is buried by hair-trigger, out of control emotions?
4. Have phobias limited your life, despite your best efforts to overcome them?
5. Have you been in therapy "forever," wrestling with the same old problems?
6. Have you tried cognitive therapies only to find your emotions still ruling your life?
7. Do you want to calm the chaos of self-defeating thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?
8. Do you want to get to the root cause of chronic symptoms?
9. Do you want to reduce stress and its negative impact on your physical health?
Another powerful, evidenced based treatment of PTSD is Prolonged Exposure. The Veteran Affairs (VA)’s National Center for PTSD defines Prolonged Exposure Therapy as: “Prolonged Exposure (PE) teaches you to gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings, and situations that you have been avoiding since your trauma. By confronting these challenges, you can decrease your PTSD symptoms”.
Once we can get to the root of your traumatic experience, we can begin the healing work, and identify which tools (including EMDR, Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and more) will be most effective for you.
We are proud mental health care providers for our veterans and work with Crime Victim Compensation Services.
