Trauma
"Trauma is an internal straight jacket created when a devastating moment is frozen in time. It stifles the unfolding of being, and strangles our attempts to move forward with our lives. It disconnects us from ourselves, others, nature and spirit. When overwhelmed by threat, we are frozen in fear, as though our instinctive survival energies were 'all dressed up with no place to go.'"
- Peter Levine, Ph.D
You may be having symptoms of trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which can include emotional numbness, impotent rage, chronically intrusive memories of trauma that seem to be happening in the present moment, inability to distinguish flashbacks from real occurrences, and being incapable of acting, immobilized with fear or anxiety.
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When something painful happens to you, and you feel intense emotions, the experience is a full body response. Symptoms of stress and trauma become "stuck" in your body. Somatic is defined as relating to the body. Somatic symptoms are physical. Headaches, heart palpitations, stomach issues, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia, and sexual pain can all be somatic symptoms related to trauma.
At Counseling Downingtown, our approach honors the wisdom of our bodies and aims to resolve symptoms of trauma. Through increased body awareness, sensation tolerance, and guided imagery, clients are carefully guided to safely release the stuck energy of traumatizing experiences. Trauma therapy can offer you: relief from traumatic stress symptoms, increased resiliency and resourcefulness, a heightened sense of empowerment and an increased capacity to be in the here-and-now and connect with others.
Contact us for a phone screening and then schedule an appointment!