Trauma and PTSD Recovery

Trauma is an experience that affects everyone at some point in life. Traumas can be big T traumas like child sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse, losing a loved one, to surviving natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina or terrorism like 9-11. On the other hand, there are myriads of little t traumas, which may involve being embarrassed by a teacher while giving a presentation, consistent criticism by a parent, lack of support for your sports or academic pursuits and countless others.

What’s different about traumatic memory and everyday memory is the way in which it is encoded in the brain and body. When we experience a traumatic event, our brains respond with a release of adrenaline by the adrenal glands. This revs up our system to be prepared to respond to a threat to our life or wellbeing. This is a markedly different physiological response than every day interaction. If we are able to talk with someone about what has happened to us and been supported, if we haven’t perseverated or thought obsessively about what happened to us and lost lots of sleep, then chances are good that the trauma will have little more than an immediate effect. However, if the trauma is not processed, often the frightening, overwhelming fear or embarrassment that we experienced is pushed back into the unconscious. When awareness of the trauma becomes unconscious it’s effects can influence our current behavior. For instance, an embarrassment fin front of a class may translate into a fear of public speaking. We may experience anxiety about driving a car if we have trauma from an automobile accident and we can be fearful and distrustful of others, including spouses or other intimate relationships if we have experienced early childhood abuse of one kind or another. These traumatic experiences create blocks or barriers that prevent us from reaching our full potential in life. We are not responsible for the reactions we have when these traumas have become unconscious. What happens is that we develop symptoms which are the keys to understanding why we feel and act as we do. As humans we were designed to need others to assist us in dealing with certain life problems. There are certain things that we can’t simply do by ourselves. This is where working with a trauma expert can be so helpful and essential.

With a compassionate ear, a safe, trusting environment and specialized skills designed to process painful memories you can reclaim your life and move from surviving to thriving. I have helped artists, writers and musicians overcome creative blocks and performance anxiety. Helped couples overcome suspicion, lack of trust and poor communication skills rooted in past traumas to connect and have fulfilling and intimate relationships. I have helped people frozen with anxiety about driving, dating, relationships and many more phobias rooted in past trauma live healthy, successful lives free of fear. I have helped women and men escape the tortuous relationships of living with or being married to highly narcissistic partners.