Have you ever experienced trauma?

Most people understand that things like war, natural disasters and severe childhood abuse are traumatic. If you have experienced any of those things, it is highly likely that you have also felt symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Those types of traumas are what we refer to as “Big T’s”. But these are not the only ways a person can experience trauma and in fact, it is far more broad of a definition than many people realize. There are also traumas that we refer to as “little t’s”. These are things that happen to people that are often not acknowledged as trauma, and yet are stored in the brain similarly to the “Big T’s”.

Perhaps you were bullied in school and you can still remember the pain of feeling alone and ashamed. Maybe you had a family that appeared very loving but would sometimes put you down, leaving you feeling confused, like maybe you were the “crazy one.” Maybe you had one or two instances of abuse that you’ve convinced yourself “doesn’t bother you anymore” even though sometimes you find yourself randomly sad or angry. Perhaps your family’s way of dealing with conflict or emotions was to ignore it altogether or give you the silent treatment. Did you grow up with a lot of yelling in your house? Did you struggle in school academically or socially? Did you lose a person who was very close to you? All of these things may seem like “normal” experiences, but they can actually be stored in the brain as traumatic memories.

Trauma is less of a “mental illness” and more of a psychological injury.

When we experience trauma we enter into our “trauma brain” which is another term for “survival mode”. Think of your brain as a giant room of filing cabinets. Every experience that we have gets stored in its rightful place. However, when we experience trauma (both big and little), the injury occurs when it becomes stored in the wrong filing cabinet. It then creates a stuck point that we keep coming back to again and again any time we are experiencing something that associates to the trauma. 

Many people seek counseling because they have symptoms of anxiety and depression. Are you feeling panic in certain situations? Are you feeling withdrawn or lethargic? Maybe you have obsessive or intrusive thoughts or memories that just keep racing through your mind. Perhaps you find yourself disliking who you are, feeling not good enough or that other people don’t like you. You may not even realize that the root of these things is trauma (and it often is). If the root of your concerns can be resolved, the symptoms will naturally begin to dissipate.

Ask yourself if you are suffering from any of the following symptoms of trauma:

  • Intrusive thoughts or memories that are difficult to get out of your head

  • Flashbacks (feeling like you are experiencing a memory or event all over again whether that be in your mind or body)

  • Nightmares

  • Avoiding certain people/places/things that remind you of the traumatic event

  • Irritability, hostility, rage

  • Self-destructive behaviors

  • Guilt & shame

  • Anxiety/Panic attacks

  • Depression

  • Mistrust of people and/or problems in your relationships

  • Heightened or extreme physical or emotional reactions to things

  • Numbness

At Beehive Counseling in Manchester and Southington CT, we offer specific types of therapy for traumas both big and small.

Visit our EMDR page to find out more about one of these modalities, or contact us to make an appointment with one of our experienced clinicians.