We do not have control of the trauma(s) we experience or how they initially impact our lives. But it is possible for healing to take place so that the impact can be diminished or eliminated. I invite you to go on this journey of healing with me!
Emotional trauma is different than normal stress. Stress is a normal response to feeling overwhelmed by environmental demands (modern stress) or when we feel in danger. When we are stressed, our body responds by having a faster heart rate, higher blood pressure, quicker breathing, tenser muscle, etc. These are called fight or flight responses which are designed to protect us from danger. Once the source of stress has passed, our nervous systems calm down and we return to a state of equilibrium. Sometimes stress can produce feelings of exhilaration and can motivate us to perform better. Every person experiences stress differently. One person’s exhilarating challenge may be another’s terrifying experience.

Emotional trauma has a different scenario. It involves “stress frozen in place” that causes a person to be locked into a pattern of neurological distress that does not go away even when the source of the stress is gone. Emotional traumatic events are usually unexpected and beyond the control of the individual, and they seriously threaten a persons sense of safety and their assumptions about the world. It can be a clear cut life-threatening experience like being in military combat, experiencing a disaster, or it can be a series of less intense but still very traumatizing experience like childhood abuse and neglect. Different individuals respond differently to traumatic experiences and no one really knows his/her own level of vulnerability until an emotional trauma is experienced.
What are the impacts of emotional trauma?
* Physiological symptoms like intrusive memories, nightmares, startle responses, inability to relax, sleep problems, chronic headaches, etc.
* Emotional numbing and apathy.
* Feeling unsafe and excessive efforts to avoid any potential danger.
* Difficulty with trust, intimacy and affection.
* Feeling hopeless and having negative views about self and others (e.g. not feeling understood and being let down).
* Rage and aggression toward oneself or others.
* Feeling disconnected with different “parts” of oneself (e.g. one may feel like they are functioning okay on the outside but on the inside are feeling chaotic).
* Repetition of unhealthy habits and unhealthy patterns in relationships.
* Being reactive and easily triggered, then perhaps feeling regretful afterwards.
 And the list can go on and on.
The impacts of untreated trauma can continue to repeat and interfere profoundly with the quality of your life. We do our best to distance ourselves from them but this disconnection is exactly what blocks the healing and our capacity to return to the equilibrium of a normal life. Healing your trauma requires you to have the courage to do something different.
True healing involves reaching out for the much needed support and insight that may have been lacking when the trauma occurred. It is important to select a professional counselor that has the skills and knowledge to help you through this journey by fostering an atmosphere of safety, trust and support. Healing emotional trauma can also involve connecting with physical sensations and feelings that can be very difficult to tolerate and process alone. Doing this without proper support can be overwhelming and can possibly result in additional trauma. Being a counselor for clients who have dealt with traumatic experiences, I have become an intimate witness for them in their healing processes. Some of them reported feeling amazed by the healing power they found with someone who could respond in a supportive and empathetic manner to all their delicate and “scary” feelings. For them, this opened up the door to their frozen feelings so that they could be slowly processed and integrated. This is not an easy task, but the experience is liberating. Some clients reported feeling like they were “back to themselves” and “finally living lives in the present”.
Emotional Trauma and Healing