Trauma
Past difficult experiences of different types (attacks, accidents, natural disasters, domestic violence) can involve a trauma (or shock) and lead to problems in our daily lives, long after going through them. The sheer threat experienced at the time makes it difficult for our brains to process them as memories, and snippets of them (both physical and emotional) keep coming up in response to (sometimes unrecognized) triggers. The presentations most commonly seen are:
POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
In response to an event lived with extreme fear, you can experience:
-Reexperiencing: recurrent and intrusive flashbacks of the event, with strong emotions (anger, fear) and physical sensations (sweat, rapid heartbeat). Nightmares and night terrors are also common.
-Avoidance: trying to avoid thinking or talking about the event, activities, places and people related to it. People lose interest in things they used to do and often feel emotionally numb.
-Excessive activation: feeling constantly ‘activated’, unable to focus, poor sleep, and jumpy in response to sudden noise.
This can seriously impact people’s normal functioning and their relationships.
COMPLEX TRAUMA
When the traumatic experience(s) took place during the earlier part of the person’s life, it usually leads to some of the problems described above, together with difficulties when it comes to trusting others, difficulty controlling one’s emotions, feeling as if one is permanently damaged or worthless, intense shame, dissociative symptoms (e.g., feeling spaced out, detached from the present, regularly ‘in auto-pilot’) or regular suicidal feelings.
On some occasions, the traumatic situation did not involve a threat to one’s life, but it was deeply distressing, leading to a huge dent in someone’s self-concept. We talk then of ‘little-T traumas’, which need to also be addressed in order to reinstate a sense of self-esteem.
In some cases, traumatic memories lead to specific fears or phobias (of items, situations or activities). There is also evidence that some long term physical health problems (such as chronic pain or fatigue) is closely linked to traumatic experiences earlier in life, often when these have happened earlier in life.
Trauma-focused CBT and EMDR have shown to be effective approaches to these difficulties. Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) can also be a helpful addition when there is a strong element of shame or self-criticism preventing the person from working on the memories.
You may identify with one or several of them. But maybe your problem is not quite reflected in the list above. In any case, feel free to contact me to discuss it and see how therapy can help.
Help with other difficulties
Depression / Mood problems
Anxiety / Stress
Couple relationships
Other