When all you know is fight or flight, red flags and butterflies all feel the same.
Irritable much?
Are you feeling quick to anger and generally on edge? You’re walking around just trying to get through the day, minding your business and then your spouse/coworker/child asks you for something and all of the sudden you feel an intense surge of frustration. After you calm down, you realize it may have been out of proportion, but feel powerless to control it.
Well, your nervous system may be hijacked, and it might be trauma (officially speaking Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) rearing it’s ugly head. Some other signs might be if you often feel numb or disconnected, avoid the types of memories or topics that bring on intense feelings of guilt or shame, are easily startled, or struggle to trust and feel safe in relationships.
You don’t need to be in therapy forever to get relief.
When we go through significant stressful experiences (or numerous ones), a primal system in our brain takes over. Our brain is hard-wired for survival, and in the face of threat that system kicks in. The only problem is, we aren’t fighting off saber-tooth tigers these days and we don’t always need to go into fight, flight, or freeze. In therapy we can re-wire this system and get back in control of our emotions and responses. Trauma is often misunderstood, but it is entirely treatable! I use Cognitive Processing Therapy, an evidenced based treatment modality, to treat Post-tramatic Stress Disorder and trauma in as few as 7-12 sessions.