Trauma Therapy
Has Trauma Caused You To Think Negatively About Yourself, Others, Or The World?
Trauma is a highly subjective experience, meaning its impact and significance can vary greatly from person to person. What may be profoundly traumatic for one individual might not have the same effect on another. This subjectivity arises because trauma is not solely defined by the event itself, but by the individual’s emotional response to it. Factors such as personal history, coping mechanisms, and the support systems available all influence how trauma is perceived and processed. It is crucial to understand and respect that each person’s experience of trauma is unique and valid, regardless of how it may appear to others.
Therefore, it’s easy to understand why trauma is not limited to extreme situations such as war, assault or abuse. While these experiences can be undoubtedly traumatic, many other events can also be significantly traumatic and have long lasting negative impacts on someone’s mental health. Other types of traumatic experiences can include:
- Relationship trauma (toxic partner, narcissistic parents, infidelity, break up, trust issues)
- Childhood trauma (bullying at home or school, neglectful caregiver(s), parents constantly fighting or struggling with mental health issues or substance abuse)
- Traumatic losses/deaths
- Medical procedures
- Immigration
After traumatic events, we might develop unhealthy/negative views about ourselves, others, and the world around us. If you experienced unresolved trauma, it’s possible that this negative outlook on life has led to the development of high anxiety levels, depression, difficulties in how you experience your present relationships (trust issues or codependency issues), or a tendency to dissociate when you experience triggering situations/patterns of avoiding triggering situations. A triggering situation is an event, interaction, or experience that evokes a strong negative emotional response, often related to past trauma or distress. Unresolved trauma makes us feel as though we are merely trying to survive day by day.
Living in a constant state of survival is no way to go through life. You don’t have to keep living this way. There are ways to manage and cope with the symptoms of trauma, and it is possible to lead a happy and peaceful life even when you’ve experienced trauma.
Have any questions? Send us a message!
Unresolved Trauma Has Many Symptoms And Can Deeply Disrupt Your Life
In addition to impacting how you see yourself and the world during the day, traumatic experiences can also disrupt you at night in the form of distressing nightmares. This nighttime disruption can result in chronic sleep disturbance (i.e. insomnia). These sleep disruptions can make it hard for you to concentrate during the workday and increase forgetfulness, resulting in decreased productivity, irritability or angry outbursts. In some cases, physical symptoms like headaches, stomach pains, or body aches can occur, making it hard to conduct a healthy lifestyle. Some of these somatic symptoms can become chronic health conditions, too. Trauma symptoms can make mental and physical exhaustion a new normal in your life.
What’s more, the effects of trauma can spill over into personal relationships as well, making it harder to trust others or form close connections. Communication may become strained, leading to emotional withdrawal, conflicts, and increased isolation.
It’s natural to feel overwhelmed, but there are ways to start making progress. Have you thought about seeking trauma therapy? Therapy can be the key to helping you climb out of the depths of despair and renewing your confidence and sense of joy.
Societal Factors Can Exacerbate Trauma Symptoms
In the highly competitive environment of the San Francisco Bay area, accomplished professionals often find themselves dealing with trauma symptoms, feeling trapped in a continuous cycle of work-related stress and pressure.
The pervasive culture of perfectionism and relentless pursuit of success in this region only serves to worsen their symptoms. The demanding nature of tech and high-pressure work environments also contribute to feelings of inadequacy and burnout. If people grew up in a household where they were constantly told that they weren’t good enough, working in high-pressure environments can reaffirm such messages and bring out old traumas. The stigma surrounding mental health in professional circles often prevents individuals from seeking help, leading to a cycle of suffering in silence.
Despite their success, many people battle with imposter syndrome and struggle to feel deserving of psychological/mental health support.
The demanding nature of their careers leaves little time or energy for self-care and introspection. They prioritize work over everything, including their own mental health, mistakenly believing that working more is the key to happiness and fulfillment.
However, these professionals are caught in a vicious cycle where neglecting their needs increases the risk of burnout and actually decreases their chances of success. They need a safe space to express their struggles, validate their experiences, and learn healthy coping mechanisms. Trauma therapy is a great way to meet those needs.
Trauma Therapy Can Help You Reprocess Traumatic Memories
By working with our therapists here at Trauma Healing Therapy, we will help you reprocess and heal from your past trauma. Whether you are seeking help as an individual or as a couple, we will be able to help you with any of the following:
- Relationship trauma or past unhealthy relationships (break ups, divorce, affairs)
- Traumatic memories or experience (i.e. accidents, bullying)
- Childhood trauma/neglect
- Medical trauma
- Immigration trauma
- Fertility trauma
- Traumatic loss/death
- First responder trauma
If your specific trauma is not listed above, please still do reach out, as these are just examples and do not exhaust all that we can help you with at Trauma Healing Therapy. The ultimate goal is for us to help you make the transition from simply “surviving” to truly living and loving your life and leaving the past in the past. By being able to properly reprocess your traumatic memories in a safe environment, you’ll have a much better understanding of how trauma is (and has been) affecting you and how life can look like.
Treatments Utilized For Trauma Therapy
Our trauma specialists want you to experience a healthier, fuller life, where you feel safe and successful in your career, hobbies. and relationships alike. Some of our trauma treatment methods include:
Somatic Techniques: These are therapeutic approaches that focus on the connection between the mind and body to address and heal trauma. These techniques recognize that trauma is stored in the body and manifest through physical symptoms. By engaging the body in the healing process, somatic techniques aim to release stored trauma, reduce physical and emotional distress, and promote overall well-being.
The Flash Technique: The Flash Technique (FT) is a new, evidence-based therapeutic method designed to alleviate the distress linked to traumatic memories. Unlike traditional trauma therapies, FT is minimally intrusive and does not require clients to consciously engage with their traumatic memories, enabling them to process these memories without experiencing distress.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): This approach incorporates bilateral stimulation exercises—such as tapping or moving your eyes back and forth—to assist your brain in reprocessing traumatic memories. The goal of EMDR therapy is to reduce the emotional charge of trauma so that you can recall painful memories without feeling overwhelmed.
Grounding Skills: The goal of grounding techniques is to help you achieve a balanced nervous system once triggered.
Grounding techniques can consist of deep breathing exercises, utilizing your five senses, or stretching.
Trauma can be effectively treated with therapy. With the help of skilled and compassionate therapists, you can move beyond your trauma and joyfully embrace your present life. This positive psychological change can result in personal growth, empowerment, greater self-worth, increased resilience, and improved relationships.
You May Be Interested In Trauma Therapy But Have More Questions…
Therapy can be expensive. How many sessions will I have to pay for to see results?
Our primary focus is to assist you in your healing process by working together to create a treatment plan that matches your objectives and financial situation. The number of trauma therapy sessions required can vary widely based on your individual circumstances.
To help you ease the financial burden, we offer superbills that you can submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Additionally, we provide trauma therapy intensives as a cost-effective option to minimize the total number of sessions needed.
I am usually very busy. What if I can’t fully commit to trauma therapy?
Trauma therapy is different from traditional talk therapy in that it employs focused and evidence-based techniques such as EMDR and Flash. Unlike long-term approaches, trauma therapy is goal-oriented, often leading to significant progress within shorter time frames.
We also offer intensive therapy options for busy clients. In intensive therapy, meaningful results can be achieved in concentrated sessions that take place over a short period of time (i.e. 1 to 4 weeks).
Will talking about my trauma in therapy make things worse?
It’s normal to feel anxious when you open up about trauma. The good news is that therapy offers a secure environment where you’ll receive continuous support. Talking about your trauma in the safe space of therapy can be cathartic and empowering. It also assures that you are in the hands of a well trained professional that will guide you to avoid retraumatization and will be able to calm down if you get triggered.
While talking in detail about your trauma may be re-traumatizing and not recommended by your therapist, re-processing trauma with your therapist will feel liberating. Overcoming trauma may be difficult, but our therapists are equipped to help you navigate through it at your own pace, always keeping your well-being in focus. Through proven techniques and empathetic encouragement, therapy empowers you to process and recover from your experiences, ultimately fostering increased resilience and well-being.
Are You Ready To Get A Brighter View Of Yourself And The World?
If you want to have a better outlook on life and learn how to move past the trauma and live a fuller, healthier life, we encourage you to reach out and start trauma therapy with us. To get started, call (408) 389-4075 for a free 20-minute consultation or book it right here. We also have a contact page on our website.
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Trauma Therapy In Cupertino
21710 Stevens Creek Blvd #222, Cupertino, CA 95014
Trauma Therapy In San Francisco
2211 Post St #300, San Francisco, CA 94115