Hello fellow veterans. So, as you may know many Veterans experience episodes of PTSD from their past traumatic experiences. Each of these traumas are unique and individualized based on your individual experiences and how you treat them. But what is the perfect way the treat these traumas. That is a very good question! There is no specific treatment that works for everyone. However, there are many different treatments available to help each Veteran in their own way and individualized needs. Here is one technique that is available, so please read on the see if this will work for you. Is trauma weighing you down in life? Have painful past experiences made it hard to trust others? Do you think you might have experienced trauma in your life but are not sure your experience counts? Do You Ever Feel Defined by Your Past? If you’re dealing with trauma, you may suffer from PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, and feelings of hypervigilance. Whenever something reminds you of your traumatic experience, you may feel like you’re reliving it all over again, like the past will repeat itself endlessly. Maybe you ask yourself: Is my life ever going to change? Will things ever be different? What is wrong with me? Trauma Takes Away Your Sense of Power! Trauma isn’t always obvious or easy to recognize. There may be experiences in your past—such as betrayal, rejection, or emotional abuse—that were traumatic without you even realizing it. Over time, these events may have caused you to develop negative beliefs about yourself. Perhaps you feel like you’re not good enough or that you’re unworthy of love. You may suffer from feelings of helplessness and a lack of power as if you’re unsafe in your own body. Trauma takes away your sense of power, but counseling is a chance to get it back. It is in your nature as a human to seek safety and stability in your life. Here at True Peace Therapy, our goal is to help you resolve the pain of the past and turn towards living with meaning and purpose in the present. No matter what you have been through, healing and positive change are possible. Many People Do Not Think Traumatic Experiences “Count” As Trauma! Virtually everyone has suffered from trauma at some point in their life. Most traumatic experiences fall into two categories: Big T-trauma and little t-trauma. Big T-trauma includes events where a person’s life or bodily integrity is threatened. Examples include child abuse and neglect, rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse, war, combat-related trauma, serious car accidents, and natural disasters. Little-t traumas, referred to as “subtle trauma,” are generally painful experiences that often cause trauma responses that people may not initially think of as traumatic. These include emotional abuse and neglect, financial insecurity, toxic workplaces, chronic illness, infidelity, divorce, or repeated rejection. Simply being around verbally or emotionally abusive people can be traumatizing. Unfortunately, many people don’t think such experiences “count” as traumatic, as they usually happen over long periods and are more subtle in how they affect the mind and body. Many Trauma Survivors Lack the Support They Need! People who suffer from trauma do not get the help they need. They may feel too ashamed of what happened to talk about it with anyone. They may tell themselves that although their experience was terrible, others “have it worse.” Moreover, many people who have experienced trauma frequently scan their environment for potential threats. These defensive self-protection strategies often have a negative effect on their quality of life and relationships with others. Without proper support, trauma survivors often self-medicate or turn to unhealthy habits to cope with their pain. They may isolate themselves, avoiding social activities and any situation that reminds them of the past. Although these behaviors may bring temporary relief, they don’t address trauma at the root. Therapy is a chance to get to the core of your trauma so that you don’t have to rely on unhealthy survival strategies to get by. Therapy Can Give You Back the Power That Trauma Took Away! Dealing with trauma is not just hard—it’s lonely. You may feel like no one understands what you’ve been through or believes your story. If this is the case, we encourage you to take heart. True Peace Therapy provides a warm, nonjudgmental environment to share your struggles and find validation and acceptance. You don’t have to hold anything back, but you don’t have to open up immediately. This is your therapy. The healing process happens on your timeline and at your comfort level. Trauma and PTSD treatment is an opportunity to restore your sense of safety, improve your self-compassion, and tap into new sources of inner strength. Instead of avoiding your thoughts and feelings, you will learn to pay attention to them and notice how they affect your actions ...
