Are You Piecing Your Life Back Together After A Traumatic Experience?
Has a traumatic event, or just a challenging life, left you feeling overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and despair? Are you constantly irritated by the day’s events, to the point that you are arguing with friends, coworkers, or even your spouse and children? Have you noticed a disconnection or increased distance in your relationships, but aren’t sure how to get back to the way things used to be?
It may seem like you’ve tried everything, but you still feel trapped in a cycle of fear and doubt. And with each unsuccessful trauma treatment, your worries increase. At the same time, you might be too scared to pursue additional treatment options. What if they don’t work? Or what if they bring up painful memories you aren’t prepared to work through yet?
Your loved ones might try to offer support, but well-meaning statements like “time heals all wounds” only leave you feeling worse. In an effort to regain a sense of control, you may start avoiding work functions and social events that you used to enjoy. Or perhaps you began self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to try and cope with overwhelming anger, anxiety, panic, and depression. But instead of helping you feel better, the increased isolation has led to greater shame and self-doubt. Making things more difficult, trauma can trigger distressing physical symptoms—like difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, racing heart rate, low energy, high anxiety, panic attacks, and headaches—that further increase feelings of fear and helplessness.
It may seem like it’s all you can do just to keep up with day-to-day obligations. You know you need to put time and energy into your own self-care, but the thought of tackling painful memories can be paralyzing. And with your children or others looking to you as a source of strength, a part of you can’t help but believe that prioritizing your own wellbeing would be selfish.
Thankfully, there is a path to hope and healing. Working with a trauma therapist can help you understand why you feel stuck and provide concrete steps you can take to find relief and foster greater peace and safety in your life.
Almost Everyone Experiences Trauma At Some Point
Many people associate trauma with a significant life event: surviving a severe accident, being diagnosed with a chronic illness, losing your home to a natural disaster, or serving in an active war zone. The truth is that any life event that makes you feel alone and unprepared can cause trauma, whether it’s “big T” trauma (the loss of a loved one) or “little T” trauma (giving a bad presentation at work). Even if nothing particularly negative has happened in your life, the absence of positive experiences—receiving validation from your parents, being recognized for your strengths, or having a loving partner, for example—can result in trauma.
Unfortunately, our on-the-go society can make it hard to be open about the ways you are struggling and what you need to feel confident and in control. Slowing down to work on your own wellbeing isn’t always possible at home or acceptable in the workplace. This bias against self-care can lead you to view the difficult emotions you are facing as a sign of weakness, so you hide them from the world. As a result, you might feel like your colleagues and friends don’t know the real you. And that lack of connection can erode your self-confidence, contributing to symptoms of trauma and making it harder to address on your own.
Regardless of the source of trauma, we assure you that your experience is valid. Trauma therapy at the Loppnow Relationship Center can help you gain the skills and awareness you need to challenge anxious thoughts and regain a sense of control and safety.
EMDR Trauma Therapy Can Foster Hope And Healing
Living with trauma can be an isolating experience, but it doesn’t define who you are. And with the right support and guidance, you can redefine your experience. At Loppnow Relationship Center, we recognize how important it is to have a warm, welcoming space where you can explore your thoughts and emotions without fear of judgment. Often, just having a neutral support system to talk through your experience can be relieving. And when you discover the strength and wisdom you already possess, you can recognize and regulate emotions and behavior more effectively so you can move forward with greater confidence.
During our first session, you will have an opportunity to share your experience openly and honestly. We take a compassionate, collaborative approach, so you can feel truly understood and accepted for who you are. The truth is that no two people experience trauma in the same way or for the same reasons, and it can be empowering to have your experience validated.
Trauma has a way of affecting every aspect of your life. And healing from trauma requires a complete approach that addresses all of your needs: mental, physical, emotional, and (if you want) spiritual. By taking time to discuss the pain, anger, or anxiety you are feeling—and what you want to change—we can tailor a strategy for healing based on your unique needs.
We draw from a range of scientifically validated approaches to provide you with personalized treatment that can “rewire” your response to painful memories. Some of these interventions include EMDR, neurobiology, attachment theory, and somatic experiencing. By incorporating somatic experiencing, you can learn where you hold tension in the body so you can recognize and alleviate trauma symptoms before they become overwhelming. We also help you learn concrete, practical skills you can begin using immediately to alleviate distressing thoughts, emotions, and physical symptoms of trauma.
Attachment-focused EMDR trauma therapy allows you to explore past experiences and challenge coping skills that no longer serve you. Using a process known as resourcing, we help you find a safe, peaceful place you can connect to in times of pain or distress. By visualizing positive imagery and people you can connect with openly and honestly, you are able to see your situation from a new, calmer perspective and remove some of the negative power a painful memory has over you. Rather than getting rid of or forgetting about the painful memory, you are shifting the focus and reframing your experience into something that gives power back to yourself.
At the Loppnow Relationship Center, we have been helping individuals manage and overcome trauma for over 15 years. In that time, we’ve seen how empowering it can be to share your experience and gain a new, objective perspective about your experience. You’ve already taken the first step by reading this page. And together, we can help you learn the practical tools and techniques you need to recognize symptoms of trauma and move forward with greater hope and positivity.
You may be considering trauma therapy but still have questions…
If I haven’t been able to do this on my own, how would working with a therapist help?
It can be hard to believe that someone can help you learn more about yourself. At Loppnow Relationship Center, we have studied in depth how pain metabolizes in the mind and body. Rather than tell you how to live your life, we help you understand how your mind, body, and emotions all come together. And we give you the skills and resources you need to turn that knowledge into a powerful source of ongoing strength so you can walk your own path with greater confidence.
Won’t thinking about trauma just make me feel worse?
The thought of revisiting painful memories can be frightening, especially when you have spent months or years avoiding the memory. We know that each person experiences trauma in their own way, and your path to healing may not look like someone else’s. Throughout our work together, we’ll move at a pace that is comfortable for you. And before we tackle painful memories, we’ll help you learn the skills and strategies you need to manage them in a healthy, productive way.
How long does EMDR trauma therapy take?
No two people experience trauma in the same way, and your path to healing may not look like someone else’s. While many of our clients start to feel some relief in as little as 1-2 sessions, we encourage you to meet for as long as you need. In some cases, you may only need a handful of sessions to reach your goals. Alternately, you might be dealing with a complex history of trauma or co-occurring issues, like anxiety or depression, that can take a longer time to address. You are the one who is in charge, and we will adapt our approach to your unique needs and therapy goals.
Trauma Doesn’t Have To Define Your Life
If you are ready to redefine your experience and foster greater peace in your life, we invite you to contact us at (626) 634-2131 to schedule a free 10-minute phone consultation.