Trauma can happen to anyone, and it often comes in forms that people do not immediately realize. While it is common to recognize that challenging events such as participation in combat or surviving a home break-in can cause trauma, fewer understand that bullying, natural disasters (even if the individual was not directly affected), medical procedures, and more can all cause trauma as well.
Individual therapy can help to process trauma, but not if a person fails to realize that they are experiencing trauma in the first place! Recognizing the effects of trauma on your life is the first step toward healing.
Here are some of the most common signs of unprocessed trauma, such as emotional triggers and relationship struggles, as well as how individual therapy can provide tools for recovery and personal growth.
Physical Symptoms of Trauma
Trauma need not be recent to produce physical symptoms. Some of the most common changes that people experience after enduring a traumatic event include:
- Chronic fatigue
- Muscle tension
- Sleeping too little or too much
- Upset stomach or loss of appetite
- Heart palpitations caused by stress
Every person’s experience is different, but it is essential to understand that the body responds to trauma to keep the individual safe. Even if the trauma is long past, the body may use protective measures (such as directing blood away from the stomach in preparation for fight or flight, causing nausea). It is common for the body not to recognize the difference between something that happened in the past and something that is happening now.
Emotional Indicators of Trauma
An individual’s emotional well-being is often one of the most notable areas to suffer after trauma. Those who are facing unresolved trauma may experience:
- Dissociation or difficulty focusing
- Anger or snapping, especially in unexpected outbursts
- Hypervigilance or an inability to relax
- Intrusive thoughts
- Flashbacks
- Loss of interest or withdrawal from social or hobby activities
Trauma forces the body to focus more on survival than pleasure. As a result, while the trauma remains unaddressed, people often find that they do not recognize themselves or do not like where they are in life. Therapy can help to bring joy and fulfillment back.
Life Changes After Trauma
Because one’s emotional and physical well-being is in flux after trauma, it is only natural that the way they live their lives can also change. It is common to see:
- Difficulty trusting others in relationships
- A need to exert control, either with loved ones or in the workplace
- The tendency to choose unsuitable romantic partners
- A decline in physical health
- A lower standard for physical well-being (e.g., developing binge-eating habits)
How Individual Therapy Can Help
While every instance of trauma is individual, one unifying factor is that therapy can have a profound impact on how a person moves forward. The purpose of therapy is not to help an individual “forget” what happened; rather, it gives them the tools to understand their response and integrate the events into their history so that they may move forward.
There are many methods by which a therapist can help a patient overcome trauma:
- Accountability – In some instances, trauma was the driver behind a person falling out of habit with valuable behaviors, such as brushing their teeth or eating well. Working with a therapist can create a form of accountability to get a person back into those favorable habits, which can also brighten other areas of their lives.
- Processing – One of the biggest challenges of overcoming trauma is working through it without becoming further traumatized. Therapists provide a safe space in which the details of the trauma can be carefully unwound. This allows the patient to consider them carefully without becoming overwhelmed or hopeless. As a result, trauma can have less of an impact on a person’s thoughts and behaviors.
- Skill Development – In many cases, a person suffers after trauma not because they have no desire to get better, but because they do not know how. Individual therapy can equip an individual with the tools they need to overcome challenges. This may range from new methods of relaxation to interrupt the fight or flight response to strategies for communicating with people.
Try Therapy to Address Trauma Symptoms
Trauma comes in many forms, and all of them are valid, no matter how large or small they may seem. These challenging events or consistent aggressions can impact how you live your life, but you are not bound to their effects. Individual therapy can teach you the skills and mindsets necessary to overcome trauma and return to the flourishing, exciting life you want to live. Contact Village Counseling to schedule your therapy appointment with one of our trauma-informed therapists!