Counseling for Trauma
“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”
― Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral's Kiss
You may feel out of control. You may have thought you could use your mind and just pull through, but you have not felt like yourself. You know you are safe, but the world feels scary, and you can't seem to find peace.
Before your trauma, life seemed carefree. You believed you could handle life's challenges, and you had. But lately things just don't feel right. You look around and wonder what life would be like if the trauma had never happened.
So here you are, thinking you should be past it, but wondering if you'll ever feel like yourself again.
Every day is unpredictable. You don't know if this will be a day you can function or if you'll find yourself numb, tearful, or in a constant state of "alert."
Some days you know your trauma was serious. Other days you wonder if you're overreacting. Was it trauma at all? Maybe it was just a tough childhood... but others had it worse. You may wonder if your trauma is bad enough to need help.
Whatever you call it, you know you want to feel normal. You function day-to-day, you do the things you're supposed to do, but deep down you know you're not experiencing the fullness of life for which you were made.
Before your trauma, life seemed carefree. You believed you could handle life's challenges, and you had. But lately things just don't feel right. You look around and wonder what life would be like if the trauma had never happened.
So here you are, thinking you should be past it, but wondering if you'll ever feel like yourself again.
Every day is unpredictable. You don't know if this will be a day you can function or if you'll find yourself numb, tearful, or in a constant state of "alert."
Some days you know your trauma was serious. Other days you wonder if you're overreacting. Was it trauma at all? Maybe it was just a tough childhood... but others had it worse. You may wonder if your trauma is bad enough to need help.
Whatever you call it, you know you want to feel normal. You function day-to-day, you do the things you're supposed to do, but deep down you know you're not experiencing the fullness of life for which you were made.
EMDR
Trauma is an emotional response to a negative life experience. Trauma can come from any type of event in which fear and a loss of control are experienced. Symptoms of trauma can include flashbacks, unpredictable emotions, strained relationships, and in some cases, physical symptoms such as headaches or nausea.
Traumatic memories are stored in the body and brain differently from positive memories. As a result, those memories can be relived along with all of the associated negative emotions at any time.
EMDR works by changing the way these traumatic or negative memories are stored in the brain. EMDR therapy acts as a sort of filing cabinet, helping you file these memories away by the date that they occurred. Using your body's natural memory processing system that occurs during REM sleep, EMDR can help you resolve unprocessed memories to bring peace and healing.
Traumatic memories are stored in the body and brain differently from positive memories. As a result, those memories can be relived along with all of the associated negative emotions at any time.
EMDR works by changing the way these traumatic or negative memories are stored in the brain. EMDR therapy acts as a sort of filing cabinet, helping you file these memories away by the date that they occurred. Using your body's natural memory processing system that occurs during REM sleep, EMDR can help you resolve unprocessed memories to bring peace and healing.