Trauma Recovery

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At some point in our lives, most of us will experience a terrifying event. This could be a car accident, a natural disaster, a medical emergency, a fire—or a trauma inflicted by another person, like an assault, abuse or combat. Trauma can also come from seeing another person seriously hurt or killed, or learning about something awful that happened to a person we love. If this happens when we adults, we are often able to "process" what has happened to us and our brains are able to store these memories without causing us ongoing distress. 

However, if trauma occurs when we are children or we are powerless to stop the terrifying event or abuse from happening, it may become difficult or impossible to integrate or process what happened. We may experience symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, free floating fear, anxiety, rage, guilt, shame, numbing or sadness. What has happened is that the part of our brains that sense danger have gotten stuck and we live in a near constant state of fight, flight or freeze. Trauma makes you out of sync with the people around you; it makes maintaining satisfying relationships difficult because it is hard to feel trust. 

​"Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves."  (Bessel van der Kolk