Putting the “t” in trauma.
This blog is to serve as a free tool for educational purposes to get a better understanding about the things we support here at Reclamation and Recovery Counseling, LLC. As a disclaimer, it is important to note that this information does not constitute grounds for making an official diagnosis. Official medical diagnosis is between you and your provider. If you have any questions, please feel free to Contact Us for your free consultation.
What is trauma?
Chances are, you’ve heard of the word before; but what does it really mean and what does it actually look like? If you ask most people what trauma is, the may give examples of really bad situations like near-death experiences, natural disasters, and abuse (sexual, mental, emotional, and physical). Those individuals would be right in describing those events as traumatic. In counseling, we label those situations as “big T” traumatic events. However, slightly less known but equally important traumatic events are what we call the “little t” traumatic events. These experiences can be repeated or long term exposure to distressing events that are not as life threatening, but still upsetting. Some examples could include: growing up in a family who argues more often than not, not be able to afford basic necessities (housing or food), or not having basic safety needs met (no trustworthy people in life or a place of stability).
How do I know if the trauma is harming me?
Trauma affects everyone differently. However, we have listed some common experiences below in which it be helpful for you to see a professional if your trauma is creating issues for you:
If you find your mind or thoughts are “stuck” on that past experience. You may find that interactions in the present moment are impacted by the bad things that happened to you in the past, regardless of how much time has passed.
You are having difficulty with sleep. Whether it is a lack of sleep or nightmares about the bad thing that happened, sleep hasn’t been the same.
You may feel like you are losing your mind. No matter how hard you try to “forget” or “move past” the bad thing that happened to you, it won’t stop following you. What makes thing worse is, you might try to push the thoughts out of your head, they come back stronger than before.
You can’t trust anyone else. This bad thing that happened has led you to feeling like no one can be trusted, that others are out to hurt you, and you are better off alone.
