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HAVE YOU SUFFERED FROM TRAUMA ?

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• Do you feel differently about yourself since the traumatic event?

• Do you feel anxiety or depression since it happened?

• Do you feel like isolating from your loved ones?

• Are you reliving the traumatic situation frequently?

• Are you easily triggered and often feel unsafe?

• Is this traumatic experience affecting your relationships?

• Do you feel you are underperforming at work since it happened?

• Have you been thinking about seeking help through trauma counseling?

 

You just went through what is probably the toughest moment of your life. Trauma can be a deeply disturbing event that affects you long after the event itself has passed. Just when you think you have overcome the trauma, you find that you are still struggling. You may be asking yourself over and over, “When will I feel like myself again?” Or maybe you are worried about a loved one who seems "off" since experiencing a traumatic event.

 

Your traumatic experience may have taken place many years ago, but it feels like just yesterday. When those memories come back, it can rock your world at full force. Sometimes memories come back when things get hard or life changes for you. Either way, your life feels chaotic and out of your control. 

 

Some people may not understand what you are going through. They may wonder why you haven’t "gotten over it,” or maybe they wonder what trauma is and how it can affect people long term.

 

Trauma is a painful experience, one that affects how we think, feel and behave for a long time. It can affect our job performance, relationships, academic performance, socialization and self-care. Most people think of emotional, physical and sexual abuse as forms of trauma. These forms of abuse are certainly traumatic; however, trauma can also be caused by accidents, the death of loved ones and any other overwhelming experience that results in long-term effects.

 

It feels like an overwhelming rollercoaster affecting areas of your life that once mattered to you. You now feel loss of self, a loss of confidence and a loss of control.  

 

You could be experiencing flashbacks, constant thoughts about your experience and/or maybe constant nightmares about it. These feelings and thoughts can become PTSD. 

 

PTSD presents with the following symptoms:

 

• Agitation

• Irritability

• Hyper-vigilance

• Self-destructive behaviors 

• Social isolation

• Flashbacks

• Anxiety

• Mistrust

• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities

• Guilt

• Loneliness

• Insomnia or nightmares

• Emotional detachment

• Unwanted thoughts

• Paranoia