Currently accepting new clients| in person & online| Weekend and evening sessions
Peter A. Levine
That's still the confusing question isn't it? Is what you experienced....trauma?
Trauma is often thought of as having to be a terrifying event we hear about, witness or experience and while that is true in a lot of cases, trauma can also form in the presence of other events such as Covid, a loss of a job, a breakdown of a relationship, infidelity, being bullied, teased, neglected, being abandoned (especially in your time of need), or from having a life changing illness or injury.
However, trauma is more about the relationship to that experience, how we interpret it and come to live with it.
We all process experiences in life differently and processing trauma is no different. What you might experience as trauma, another person may not, and that's ok. But it can be a little confusing and isolating as others don't always understand what we are going through.
While there is ongoing research on trauma biology, what is currently known is trauma does create biological changes and causes a variety of stress responses.
As living beings, we have a natural, inate way to cope with stress and life threatening events, or ones that feel like they are life threatening. You've probably seen it talked about on the various social media pages and books you've read...and that is the fight, flight, freeze or fawn reaction.
While it served you well in the moment to allow you to survive, you can sometimes become "stuck" here, making it hard to return to normal functioning in your day to day life.
When your body and mind interprets certain events as similar to the ones you've experienced before that have caused you harm, you can be triggered over and over. This can lead you to isolating yourself and feeling more alone.
The effects of trauma are different for everyone, but trauma can present itself in a number of ways, such as:
There are many things that you can do to help yourself heal from trauma you've experienced. You may already be doing some of them, but they just don't feel like they are working. You're still feeling stuck in your trauma.
While many people find comfort in various self care techniques such as massage, yoga, meditation, taking time to do the things they enjoy - more often these things are hard to get motivated to do in the first place when experiencing the after effects of trauma. Sound familiar?
If it does, then seeking help from a trained counsellor, who can help guide and support you through the healing process and create a safe space for you while you unpack the multi-layers of trauma healing at a pace that feels safe for you can be highly beneficial.
One of the biggest helpers to healing trauma is not having to do it alone. So, having a counsellor is there with you to ensure you have a safe place as you turn and face the trauma, process the various feelings and gain more awareness of the effects that the trauma has had on you, is one of the ways you can start to heal from trauma.
Once you can better understand how trauma has been effecting you and your life, you can start to gain control over the effects of trauma, opening the path to start truly living your life again, instead of surviving your life.
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Nurture Me Counselling acknowledges that it is situated on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen and Coast SalISH nation in BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA. Archeological data shows that their ancestors have been stewards of this beautiful land for at least 10,000 years. Traditionally, Maple Ridge was known by its Halkomelem name 'Z'wa?acstan' which translates into "place where the golden eagles are". Nurture Me Counselling greatly values and Appreciates the opportunity to learn, live, play, connect and share experiences on this traditional land.
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