People who have survived trauma often feel like life is more difficult for them.

They may feel like it’s impossible to let their guard down and be themselves around others. They may struggle to be authentic or show weakness.

This disconnection impacts their relationships. It can feel intensely lonely.

When our brains get stuck in the fight/flight/freeze response, the nervous system mistakenly believes that the trauma hasn’t ended.

The incident may have occurred a week ago or many years ago, but the hyper vigilance - the felt sense of danger - remains.

You may say things to yourself like:

“I should be over this”;

“What happened was my fault”;

“My mistake was unforgivable”;

“I have no evidence my partner is cheating”;

“I can’t trust myself”;

“I know I’m not a kid anymore”;

“I should give people the benefit of the doubt”;

or “I’m out of that toxic relationship”.

In your head you may know this, but your nervous system is not convinced.

This nervous system activation may show up in trauma responses like anxiety, a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, feeling unsafe, or overreacting to what is happening in the present moment.

Now what?

Trauma therapy such as Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a way to process the trauma so that the nervous system activation is decreased or eliminated entirely.

ART uses eye movements and imagined exposure to help the brain reprocess the memory.

Doing so decreases the emotional intensity of the trauma, and signals to the nervous system that it’s over now.

Trauma therapy does not require talking in detail about the trauma.

During an ART session, clients are visualizing the event or problem in their mind while being guided by the therapist through eye movements.

People regain their sense of control and feel empowered; thus taking away the emotional impact of the trauma.

If you need support making changes stick, I am happy to work alongside you.