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Trauma

Counselling & Psychotherapy for Trauma

The Impact of Trauma on Mental Health

Trauma is when we experience very stressful, frightening or distressing events that are difficult to cope with or feel out of our control. 

  • This could be one-off or ongoing events
  • Being directly harmed or neglected
  • Witnessing harm to someone else
  • Living in a traumatic atmosphere
  • Being affected by trauma in a family or community, including trauma that has happened before you were born.

Trauma can include events where you feel:

  • Frightened, under threat and unsafe
  • Abandoned, rejected and humiliated
  • Unsupported, powerless, ashamed and trapped
  • Invalidated, for example your feelings or views have been dismissed or denied

How can trauma affect you?

When we feel stressed or threatened, our bodies release hormones called cortisol and adrenaline. This is the body’s way of preparing to respond to danger. This can have a range of effects, which are sometimes called:

  • Freeze - feeling paralysed or unable to move
  • Flop - doing what you are told without being able to protest
  • Fight - fighting, struggling or protesting
  • Flight - hiding or moving away
  • Fawn - trying to please someone who harms you

Trauma can affect our bodies physically. We might experience:

  • Headaches, shaking and sweating
  • Tiredness and aches and pains around the body
  • Dizziness or changes in vision
  • Memory problems
  • Changes to how often we eat or what we feel like eating

If we experience trauma, our body’s reactions can continue long after the trauma is over. For example, when we’re in a situation that reminds us of the trauma. This might affect how we think, feel and behave, especially if recovering from a trauma that has been difficult.

Trauma makes us feel:

  • Anger, panic and shock
  • Numbness or difficulty feeling any strong emotions
  • Like you have lost your identity or a sense of who you are
  • Irritable, restless and a sense of confusion
  • Grief and unsure of what you want
  • Worried and irritable
  • A feeling of shame
  • Hypervigilence - which is when you are very alert and aware of your surroundings because you feel something bad might happen

Experiences we might have after trauma:

The physical and emotional effects of trauma can lead to certain experiences such as:

  • Flashbacks – reliving aspects of a traumatic event or feeling as if it's happening now.
  • Panic attacks – a type of fear response. They're an exaggeration of your body's response to danger, stress or excitement.
  • Dissociation – one way your mind copes with overwhelming stress. You might feel numb, spaced out, detached from your body or as though the world around you is unreal.
  • Sleep problems – you might find it hard to fall or stay asleep, feel unsafe at night, or have nightmares.
  • Self-harm - when you hurt yourself as a way of dealing with very difficult feelings and painful memories.
  • Alcohol and substance misuse, as a way of coping with difficult emotions or memories
  • Suicidal feelings

TREATMENT & SUPPORT FOR TRAUMA:

Counselling and psychotherapy will give you the space to explore difficult feelings and experiences, if you’re struggling to process or understand your trauma. Or if you want to talk about your experiences confidentially. Therapeutically, my treatment plan will be tailored for you and your unique needs. This will incorporate Integrative psychotherapy, Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

The biggest step is acknowledging that you are struggling and require support. Reach out and arrange an initial 15-20 minutes consultation, so that we can collaboratively work together towards your desired goal of achieving a sense of physical and psychological control, safety and calm.