Trauma

Everyone hurts and everyone is wounded. Philo the Greek once wrote, “be nice for everyone is fighting a great battle.” Trauma is an all too common form of wounding. Trauma occurs when a person is overwhelmed by a single event or many events over time. Their capacity to cope has been exceeded as they are in a state of extreme stress. Trauma impacts our mental health, relationships, and physical health. It has been linked to diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Trauma comes in many forms. There is big ’T’ Trauma which are the one time events of tragedy that people experience or witness, such as a car crash, combat, natural disaster, or a moment of emotional or physical abuse. Big ’T’ Trauma can result in clinical diagnoses such as PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) and ASD (acute stress disorder). Little ’t’ traumas are the repetitive, death by a thousand cuts, experiences that build up over time. These traumas can lead to clinical diagnoses as well such as anxiety or mood disorders and OTRS (ongoing traumatic relationship syndrome).

Trauma is a risk factor in most behaviors health and substance use disorders. It is essential to rule out or address in all mental health treatment. Some studies show that over 90% of people seeking psychotherapy have experienced trauma. The National Council on Behavioral Health estimated that 70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced some form of trauma at least once in their lives.

Your Brain on Trauma

• Suspicious and untrusting
• Negative and pessimistic
• Addictive
• Self sabotaging
• Scattered and idstracted
• Demotivated and drained of energy
• Self critical
• Judgmental of yoursel and others
• Emotionally cut off

Treatment

Trauma-informed treatment is central to our approach at Silicon Valley Therapy. From mood disorders to relationship issues to addiction, assessing for trauma is foundational to our treatment approach. Once trauma is identified we evaluate the best treatment modality. Not all modalities work for all people. Every person is unique so your treatment should address your specific situation and bio-psycho-social-spiritual makeup. We use evidence-based modalities such as EMDR, EFT, CBT, IFS, exposure therapy, and neurofeedback. The goal of these therapies is not to forget your trauma but transform your trauma from a disorder to an opportunity for growth. The opposite of PTSD is PTG (posttraumatic growth).

Trauma treatment can be life changing. Liberating yourself from the past enables you to build a hopeful future. C.S. Lewis reminded us that we can’t change the past but we can create a new future starting with today.

Resources and References

If you are having a trauma flashback follow these steps

National Behavioral Council

VA PTSD Assessment

Get Started

Contact us to learn more or to schedule a free phone consultation with a Silicon Valley Therapy provider. Your future partner will thank you for it.