The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.
Peter A. Levine
Could trauma therapy help you?
Cristalle uses a combination of EMDR and psychotherapy to enable you to process safely any unprocessed traumatic memories.
Trauma is an experience that causes you to develop untrue beliefs about yourself and the world and to behave in ways that can be unhelpful, unskillful and destructive.
Psychotherapy with Cristalle aims to help you process traumatic events so you can challenge and let go of any untruths about yourself and the world around you. Psychotherapy with Cristalle can help you to live with a stronger sense of safety and trust in yourself, in others and the world around you.
Trauma can often devastate our lives and can have an impact on how we live and relate to others. The effect of trauma can often be debilitating. We can understandably resort to using unhelpful coping mechanisms to create an illusion of safety. Trauma and PTSD Therapy with Cristalle will aim to safely explore your traumatic experiences to create a new narrative and to move on from your traumatic experiences. This way you can face yourself and the world again with a stronger sense of trust and confidence.
No two people are the same and because of this, Cristalle will work with you to discover which strategies will be most effective for you personally to alleviate your symptoms and reduce the frequency with which they appear.
What to expect from psychotherapy for trauma:
- Gaining an understanding of your triggers
- A reduction in intensity and frequency of your triggers
- A change in your compulsive and addictive behaviours
- A reduction in your phobia and panic associated with your trauma
- A challenge to any negative and untrue beliefs about yourself, others and the world around you so you are experiencing yourself and the world in a more realistic and less fearful and shameful way
Here are some quick tips you can try to start working through your trauma today:
1. Allow yourself to safely feel your feelings around the trauma.
Often the experience of trauma is so overwhelming that you can start to feel numb, almost paralysed, from your emotions. This is entirely normal and is your brains attempt at protecting you from pain. However, when you feel ready, the best way to first deal with trauma is allow yourself to feel those feelings of despair. Allowing yourself to cry, and understand those feelings helps you to work through them. Safely working through your feelings with a therapist can be your first step to recovery.
2. Continue to express those feelings
Whether it’s speaking to someone you trust, a safe friend or a therapist, writing down your thoughts and feelings in a journal or putting your emotions into something creative like drawing or painting, it’s a great idea to find a way that suits you to express your thoughts and feelings. They are all natural and nothing to be ashamed of.
3. Hold space for other perspectives
It’s easy to lose perspective and pick up untrue beliefs about yourself and the world after you have experienced trauma. While it’s good to accept your feelings and thoughts and not shy away from them, it’s also a good idea to refocus your attention on what is positive and realistic in your life when your feelings become overwhelming. What are you grateful for today? Which parts of your life bring you joy and make you feel fortunate to have them?
4. Take care of yourself like you would your own child
It’s easy to put self care at the bottom of the list of priorities when you can’t face the world – but looking after yourself physically and mentally is vital for you to recover from trauma. Even if it’s just making sure you wash every day, make yourself a healthy meal – remember you still need taken care of and allow yourself the time to do that.
Common PTSD and trauma symptoms
If you have been through a traumatic experience, you may be struggling with:
Mood symptoms:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Shock
- Anger
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Despair
- Guilt
- Shame
- Self-blame
- Sadness
- Panic attacks
- Hopelessness
Behavioural symptoms:
- Frequent nightmares
- Insomnia
- Startled easily
- Fatigue
- Edginess
- Self-medication with drugs and alcohol
- Self-harming behaviours
- Difficulty concentrating
- Social isolation
- Avoiding certain events that may trigger memories
- Avoiding certain people
Physical symptoms
- Insomnia
- Racing heartbeat
- Muscle tension
- Easily startled
- Aches and pains
- Exhaustion
- Nightmares
- Edginess
- Agitation
- Fatigue
- Muscle tension
- Dry mouth
- Tachycardia
- Headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
Psychological symptoms
- Confusion
- Difficulty concentrating
- Insecurities
- Repressed memories
- Dissociation
- Emotional numbing
- Constant fear
- Denial and disbelief
- Flashbacks – the individual may re-experience traumatic events over and over
- Emotional detachment
- Low self-esteem
What to do if you’re struggling with the symptoms of trauma and PTSD
- Learn and practice grounding techniques to keep yourself present and in the moment
- Through guided meditation create a safe place in your mind which you can use in moments of real panic and fear.
- Know how you are feeling is normal and talk it through with someone you trust and keep a journal of your thoughts.
- Reach out to a therapist and begin recovering from your trauma.