Trauma Therapy
It’s been long enough, right?
You’ve talked to people, you’ve forgiven yourself, you’ve done all of the things you’re supposed to.
But, regardless of what you do, it’s still there.
If this sounds familiar, you could benefit from trauma therapy.
What is Trauma, anyway?
According to Webster’s Dictionary:
Definition of trauma
1a: an injury (such as a wound) to living tissue caused by an extrinsic agent
b: a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury
c: an emotional upset the personal trauma of an executive who is not living up to his own expectations— Karen W. Arenson
2: an agent, force, or mechanism that causes trauma
For our purposes, we’re going to focus on 1b and 1c.
1b: This is likely what most people think of when they think of the word “trauma”. The keyword in this one being “severe”, and in therapeutic terms, we think of this type as “Trauma” (capital ‘T’ trauma). This kind of experience is one that few would dispute was traumatic:
- being in or around the World Trade Center during 9/11
- living through Hurricane Katrina
- getting into a severe car accident
- witnessing the sudden death of a loved one
- being a survivor of physical or sexual abuse
To learn about other situations that can contribute to experiencing trauma, check out this article.
Important Aspects of Trauma
If you’ve lived through these or anything similar, you probably recognize that you’ve been through a traumatic experience. Whether or not that resulted in long term difficulties in your mental health is a different question and will, therefore, have a different outcome for each individual.
Most people will have an easier time seeking trauma therapy after a traumatic experience and may have more support from their loved ones to do so.
The Trauma Therapist’s Definition
This definition is a MUCH more common experience and is referred to by trauma therapists as “trauma” (lowercase ‘t’ trauma). This can be literally any experience that takes a significant emotional toll either immediately or over a lifetime for you, which for other people hearing about it or experiencing it themselves may not experience or label such an event as “traumatic” for them.
Something that when you mention it you follow it up with:
- “I mean, that happened so long ago…” (as if that means you should be “over it” by now)
- “It really was nothing, but…” (but you still feel pain inside when you think about it – so you try really hard not to think about it)
- “This sounds so stupid, but…” (but it ISN’T stupid because it clearly is having a lasting negative impact on you and that is important)
Trauma Therapy Can Help
Whether we like it or not, our past experiences influence us in huge ways. Of course, we all have both positive and negative experiences in our lives, but here we’re talking about the negative ones (womp, womp). Whether what you try to stuff down inside is:
- That time (which one?!) you were making a presentation, turned beet red, started sweating through your clothes and forgot your topic in its entirety, and had to practically run out of the room in embarrassment
- A memory of your mom questioning whether you really needed that 3rd cookie while patting your belly
- Believing the words your ex was yelling at you about your worthlessness and taking all the blame for everything wrong in your relationship
- Still wanting to hide when you hear your parents fight, even though you’re a grown adult
My Approach to Trauma Therapy
As a trauma therapist, I have worked with many people dealing with the aftermath of all kinds of difficulties. Believe me, I know that it’s tough stuff. Most of your days look quite different from other people for lots of reasons. You feel like you have to be aware of situations that other people aren’t and consider things that most people don’t. It’s exhausting. I get it, and I’m here to help. I often use EMDR therapy with my clients if it feels right. To learn about my approach to EMDR therapy, check out my page.
It. All. Matters.
It matters, because YOU matter. You DON’T have to keep carrying this shit around with you all the time (isn’t the pandemic, racial injustice, political strife, and the climate crisis ENOUGH to carry around?!?!).
Make a change. Try something new (EMDR!). Contact me today.
Begin Trauma Therapy in Colorado
Living with trauma is really tough. As a trauma therapist, I’m all too familiar with this daily struggle. But, you’re not alone because I’m here to help you through all of the things. Through EMDR, I can help you clean up the mess you’ve been to deal with. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get this therapy party started. If you are too, follow these steps: