What is Trauma? Trauma is a very used term right now, but many people don't know whether their experiences qualify as "trauma" and sometimes they don't want to give their experiences that much power. When we give a label to something, it feels like that label holds much power. Let me put it in simple terms. Trauma is an experience that leaves a lasting experience past the experience itself. These lasting experiences often look like: nightmares, inability to sleep, fear of certain plaes/people/things, smells, body sensations, feeling unsafe, feeling checked out, not feeling safe in relationships, pushing people away - thinking people are out to hurt you, high anxiety, extreme awareness of your surroundings. Have you experienced any of these?
Often times, we are not willing to acknowledge the impact that an experience has on our life until it becomes so overwhelming that it starts to affect other areas of our life - work, school, the ability to hold onto relationships, etc. Did you know though that the symptoms I shared above do not have to be your daily reality forever? Wouldn't that be relieving. EMDR is a common therapy that helps ease the symptoms that are creating from us experiencing a traumatic event(s). Have you ever gone to bed feeling unsure and upset about a situation, but the next day you wake up feeling like you have clarity? What you experienced was your brain reactivating the memory to that it could process it through REM sleep. EMDR uses bi-lateral stimulation to simulate REM sleep. REM sleep is when our body processes the experiences that we have had each day. Our brain tends to categorize memories based on other. memories that are similar. Think of a file system that has folders for each type of memory. There isn't a folder for Trauma. Therefore, those memories tend to get stuck in a state of being unprocessed. EMDR doesn't "delete" memories or make us forget them, but it allows for the memory to not feel so charged when we are reminded of it. When we experience trauma, the memory tends to hold a charge with it. We can be triggered by sounds, smells, body sensations or thoughts (typically related to the unsafe event), feel unsafe, are hypervigilant (aware of everything in our surroundings) have flashbacks (vivid pictures that pop up from the event(s)). It allows us to remember that we are safe, even if we remember something that once felt unsafe. Learn more here... Ready to have hope for your future? Reach out with any questions or to schedule a session. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Nurtured Hearts Counseling's BlogBrittany WingfieldI am a Licensed Therapist in Lone Tree, Colorado and my goal for this blog is to explore taboo subjects that no one is willing to talk about and I am eager to bring awareness to. Facebook Feed |