Trauma and PTSD - Get Help With Hypnotherapy in Otley, West Yorkshire
Trauma & PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] is a natural emotional reaction to a deeply shocking and disturbing experience. In other words, it is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.
It was widely believed that PTSD could not be experienced after such events as bereavement, marriage problems, business problems/failure, conflict and work issues such as bullying and stress. It is now recognised that PTSD can result from any kind of shocking experience and is a natural emotional reaction to a disturbing or extremely shocking experience. In other words itís a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.
Traumatic events that can lead to PTSD include:
- Terrorist attacks
- Accidents such as car, train or plane crashes
- Natural disasters, such as hurricanes or earthquakes
- Sudden death of a loved one
- Childhood neglect
- Sexual or physical abuse
The shocking events that can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder can be so overwhelming and terrifying that they would cause distress to almost anyone. Following a traumatic episode, almost everyone will experience some of the symptoms of PTSD. When your sense of physical well being and trust has been shattered, itís a normal reaction to feel senseless, disengaged, or even numb. Itís very common to have nightmares or bad dreams, feel terrified, and to find it difficult to stop thinking about the traumatic event. These are what are termed as normal reactions to abnormal events.
Fortunately for most people, these symptoms are brief and temporary. They may be apparent for several days or even weeks, but they progressively reduce and eventually disappear. But if you have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the symptoms donít decrease and in fact the symptoms can get worse.
When you become stuck in a trauma the likelihood of developing PTSD can be increased
After a traumatic experience, the mind and the body are in shock. But as you make sense of what happened and process your emotions, you can come out of it. But, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you can remain in psychological shock.
The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can arise suddenly, gradually, or come and go over time. Sometimes symptoms appear seemingly out of the blue. At other times, they are triggered by something that reminds you of the original traumatic event, such as a noise, an image, certain words, or a smell.
For example, somebody who has experienced a hurricane will have gone through many emotions, fear for their life, the horrendous noise of the wind, shock, horror, feeling trapped, worries about relatives and family members etc. But to have the same reaction to a mild breeze a few months later would be an indicator that you could be suffering from PTSD.
PTSD symptoms: Re-living the traumatic event
- Disturbing memories of the event
- Flashbacks (where you might feel like the event is happening again)
- Nightmares (of the event or linked to the event)
- Feelings of extreme distress when reminded of the traumatic event
- Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (e.g. panic attacks, anxiety, thumping heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle stiffness, sweating)
PTSD symptoms: Avoidance and blocking
- Avoiding places, thoughts, or feelings that remind you of the trauma
- Inability to recall aspects of the trauma
- No interest in doing anything, loss of interest in life in general
- Feeling emotionally numb and that only you are going through this
- Sense of a limited future and negative beliefs (you donít expect to live a normal life span, get married, have a career)
- Adverse/abnormal reaction to any reminders of the traumatic event
PTSD symptoms: Increased anxiety and emotional arousal
- Difficulty sleeping or getting to sleep
- Difficulty concentrating/li>
- Irrational behaviour, uncontrolled anger/li>
- State of agitation, constantly ready for action, hyped up/li>
- Easily panicís, jumpy or irritable/li>
Other common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
- Bad tempered, angry
- Shame , guilt or blame yourself
- Feeling alone or confused
- Substance abuse
- Feelings of betrayal, suspect everyone
- Aches and pains
- Suicidal thoughts or feelings
EMDR Treatment for PTSD
I use a process called EMDR for the treatment of PTSD, which can be extremely effective for desensitising the memories of a traumatic experience.
EMDR is especially effective with children. It is capable of rapid results.
If you suspect that you or a loved one has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), itís important to seek help right away. The sooner PTSD is confronted, the easier it is to overcome.
What is EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a new controversial form of therapy. It was developed by Francine Shapiro Ph.D., in 1987. Dr. Shapiro was in a park and was thinking about some unpleasant memories. She noticed that when she moved her eyes back and forth that the intensity of the negative emotions of these unpleasant memories seemed to dissipate. This incident was followed by intense studies and in 1989, Dr. Shapiro reported that she was having success using EMDR to treat trauma.
In fact, Dr. Shapiro and many other therapists trained in using EMDR state that only a few sessions of this form of treatment can do what man months of traditional talk therapy can do if that
So what really is EMDR and how does it work? During EMDR sessions, the therapist asks the client to think about a traumatic event and at the same time, move their eyes rapidly - following the movement of a pencil or a finger by the therapist. What is happening during this process and why this seems to work is still unknown. However there are some theories.
It has been learned that painful or traumatic experiences are stored in a different place in the brain than are pleasant or neutral ones. Normally we work through these negative experiences by talking about it, dreaming about it, etc. We are able to put it behind us.
However many traumatic experiences seem to be "stuck" in the brain. Even after years of talk therapy, the intensity of painful feelings about a particular trauma could remain the same without change. Some people feel that EMDR is able to "un-stick" these experiences so that it reconnects with the healthy brain and then is reprocessed and integrated at an accelerated speed.
What does EMDR therapy involve?
Therapy begins with the therapist seeking to understand the nature of the problems presented by the client, to determine whether EMDR is suitable, to establish the specific events from the past and/or present that need to be worked with and to familiarise the client to the process.
During an EMDR session, the client will be asked to focus on a specific upsetting traumatic event with its associated thoughts, feelings and emotions. Then, a series of eye movements or alternating taps or sound will commence. Periodically, the therapist stops the eye movement stimulation to ask about the clientís current feelings and emotions. Once the client is able to view the upsetting emotion, memory or image positively and with a sense of well being, the memory, image or emotion seems to fade to the past and lose its power.
The EMDR process is client led and always remains within the clients control and in fact the therapist does not need to know the details of the event that have them to therapy, they only need to know what happens during the process so that they can help the client deal with the images, feelings or emotions to a satisfactory resolution.
Why bring up a painful memory?
When painful memories are avoided, they keep their disturbing power. They can unexpectedly and sometimes frighteningly affect our behaviour in the present. With EMDR you can face the memory in a safe setting, so that you do not feel overwhelmed. From here, you can move on and allow the memory and emotions to fade into the past and lose their power.
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