Trauma can feel like a lot of things—a foggy head, a gnawing in the pit of your stomach, an inability to find joy in the things you used to love. But what is trauma, exactly? How can you recognize it when it shows up in your life? Let’s take a closer look at what trauma looks and feels like and how to recognize the signs.
The Signs and Symptoms of Trauma
Whether you've suffered big traumas like assault, car wrecks or being the victim of a crime, or if you've suffered smaller, "silent" traumas like bullying or abandonment, all trauma leaves a few tell-tale signs in both our bodies and our brains. When trauma shows up in our lives, it often manifests itself as a wide range of symptoms clustered into four main categories.
The first cluster is “intrusive” symptoms. These include recurring, unwanted images and thoughts of the traumatic event, and dreams or nightmares about it. If these intrusive symptoms are persistent or bothersome, they may be an indication that something is amiss.
The second cluster is “avoidant” symptoms. This involves trying to push away or suppress memories of the traumatic event by avoiding certain people, places, or activities that might trigger memories related to that event. If you find yourself going out of your way to avoid situations because you don’t want to think about them, this could be an indication that trauma is lurking below the surface.
The third symptom cluster includes changes in mood and thinking. This can include depressive symptoms—sadness, loss of pleasure from anything, a sense of guilt, an overfocus on negative things, and basically a feeling of emotional and physical exhaustion. If this sounds familiar to you then it may be worth exploring further.
Finally, the fourth symptom cluster is an alteration in arousal and reactivity. These are symptoms related to the sensitized stress-response networks being overly reactive. They include anxiety, hypervigilance, increased startle response, high and variable heart rate, and sleep problems. If any (or all) of this sound familiar, then it’s important for you to reach out for help before things get worse.
What Does Treatment Look Like?
Trauma can feel like an insurmountable obstacle in life, often taking away your sense of control and making it difficult to access the joys of life. But there is hope! Once you recognize the signs of trauma, you can start down a path towards healing by talking to a trauma certified therapist. With their help, you can build a treatment plan that works best for you and your specific situation.
A trauma certified therapist will work with you to build a plan tailored specifically to you. This may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), talk therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), trauma informed hypnosis, or a technique called brainspotting.
All these techniques are evidence-based and have been proven to be effective in helping people who have experienced trauma gain better insight into their experience and move forward with more confidence and resilience than before.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is based on the idea that our thoughts and emotions play an important role in how we respond to situations. Through CBT, we can identify irrational or unhelpful thoughts and replace them with more constructive ones. This can help us respond better to difficult circumstances, instead of being overwhelmed by them.
Talk therapy can be very helpful in uncovering and healing the various challenges that come along with the effects of trauma. In fact, research suggests that talk therapy is one of the most effective ways to process feelings associated with past traumas. And although there may be some discomfort during this therapeutic journey, individuals typically come away feeling empowered and more in control of their lives.
EMDR is another popular technique which uses bilateral stimulation - such as eye movements - to create new neural pathways so that we are no longer triggered by certain memories or feelings associated with past experiences.
Trauma Informed Hypnosis is also an option for treating trauma; this technique helps people re-experience traumatic events in a safe environment so they can process the event properly and create new positive associations with it instead of feeling overwhelmed or scared when they think about it.
Finally, Brainspotting is an up-and-coming form of therapy that focuses on identifying “hot spots” within the brain where memories are stored; this allows us to access those memories directly so they can be processed more effectively and efficiently than traditional talk therapy methods may allow for.
Final Thoughts
If you have experienced trauma, there are treatments available that offer real hope. There is no shame in seeking help – taking care of your mental health should be a priority. Whether it’s CBT, talk therapy, EMDR, Trauma Informed Hypnosis or Brainspotting – know that there are options out there for effectively treating your trauma. If you believe you are experiencing trauma, reach out to us. We can help you get on the path to healing and reclaiming joy in your life again.