Recovering from Trauma

What is Mental Trauma?

When a traumatic event overwhelms a person psychologically, that response is known as mental trauma. This is an event perceived as harmful or life-threatening, and it can have lasting effects on not only the person’s mental health, but also the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. While people tend to associate trauma with major events like accidents or physical or sexual assault, it can also be the result of repeated events, like childhood neglect or ongoing emotional abuse. Approximately 20 percent of people who experience trauma will develop PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but even those who do not have this disorder can experience symptoms of PTSD.

Signs and Symptoms You are Dealing with Mental Trauma

What does PTSD mean, in terms of trauma responses? When faced with extreme stress, a person’s mind and body are overpowered by the trauma, and the nervous system’s fight, flight, or freeze response is engaged. Post-traumatic stress symptoms are the residual effects of this overwhelmed state of the nervous system, because the person’s mind is still trying to process the traumatic event after it is over. Symptoms of mental trauma include:

• Flashbacks, nightmares, or other intrusive thoughts about the trauma.
• Avoidance of anything associated with the trauma.
• Hyperawareness of danger or hypervigilance.
• Startling easily.
• Being triggered, either consciously or subconsciously, by things that bring memories of the trauma.
• Changes in self-perception.
• Low tolerance, a tendency to be overwhelmed, and difficulty controlling emotions.
• Physical symptoms, including chronic pain, sleep issues, chest pain, and headaches.

Healing from Trauma

Trauma treatment may be necessary for you to heal, or you may heal on your own, but it will require an investment in your self-care and mental health. To begin to heal, you will need to acknowledge that you need support, either from a professional or from supportive friends and family members. Denial may be the first instinct, but once you have accepted that you need help, you will be able to begin to heal and overcome your trauma responses. Build healthy habits into your routine, like regular exercise, meditation, and self-care. There are guided meditations to help you process trauma, but it is important to be aware that you cannot fully do this without the help and guidance of a therapist. While you are working on healing from trauma, do what feels protective and right to you. Try a cleanse, avoid triggers as much as possible, add new safety elements into your life and safety features to your home, and do the things you feel you need to do, regardless of whether they bring skepticism or disapproval from others. If you need to move, quit a job, break off a relationship, or cut someone out of your life, take those actions, if you feel that is best for your healing process. If you suffer from nightmares, remind yourself that they are just your brain’s way of processing information, and not something to fear. As you are healing from trauma, confront your own negative thoughts, challenging them by presenting evidence against them or replacing them with more constructive, positive thoughts. You may also find it helpful to keep a journal, not only to work through your thoughts, feelings, and experiences, but also to note your progress.

Signs of Healing

As you begin to heal from trauma and overcome your negative responses, you may experience several things. You will begin to feel emotions again, instead of minimizing them, and you will be able to validate and more fully understand your own feelings. You will notice that you have stopped trying to keep yourself distracted, numb, and busy, and instead are beginning to live mindfully, listening to your body and your instincts. As you allow yourself to reach out to others for support, you will find that you are becoming less reactionary, and your body is releasing its trauma and tension.

Therapy

Once you have acknowledged that you need help, it is important to seek out the right therapist. Just as there are different types of trauma, there are also different approaches to treating trauma. Look for a therapist who specializes in your kind of trauma, and join a support group with people who have similar experiences to yours. In the early stages of therapy, you will be building the therapeutic relationship and determining the scope of the work that needs to be done. In the middle stage, you will be changing, focusing on the growth and transformation process. During this time, you may begin feeling better, have deeper insights into your own psyche, and find more skills and tools to use to cope with issues in your life. Your therapist will help you explore themes, patterns and dynamics, identify challenges and how to work through them in healthy ways, and gain valuable tools and skills to help you navigate life. Towards the end of your therapy, you will notice that you have less to discuss in your sessions. As your goals are met and you begin to look towards the future, you will look back at your time with the therapist and notice how far you have come.

Brevard Health Alliance is Here to Help

Whether you need a behavioral health specialist or a primary care physician, Brevard Health Alliance, Inc. is here for you. Brevard County’s only Federally Qualified Health Center, BHA offers extensive health care services on a sliding-fee scale, so that we can treat residents regardless of their ability to pay. We’re committed to providing an extraordinary quality of care for our patients in order to improve the health status of Brevard County. Our focus is on continually improving the quality and efficiency of our care, and on ensuring that every patient we serve is heard, encouraged, and respected. As your family health care provider, we strive to provide not just acute care but also preventive care and healthcare-related education. Our board certified physicians, advanced practice nurse practitioners, and physician assistance provide primary care that includes well child checkups, well woman care, and physicals, along with chronic disease management. In fact, since 2005 we’ve provided not only primary care services, but also behavioral health services, dental services, diagnostic services, resource management services, pharmacy services, women’s health care and obstetrics, Hepatitis C and HIV services, extended hours pediatric walk-in care, and specialty referrals. For more information, to find a location, or to make an appointment, contact us through our website.