Trauma
Treatment

Trauma-related disorders, like PTSD or C-PTSD, do not always look like they do in common media. Many individuals think trauma is what happens after experiencing combat, a natural disaster, or physical abuse. The truth is that trauma can arise from many different situations and it can look very different from person to person.

Sometimes, the effects of trauma show up in everyday patterns that may seem unrelated to what happened. You may simply think, “This is just how I am,” without realizing that some of these responses may have developed as ways of coping with experiences that felt overwhelming, unsafe, or outside of your control. This is especially common if your first traumatic events began in childhood or adolescence.

You may notice patterns like:

• Always being on alert. You may have a hard time fully relaxing, constantly scan your surroundings, notice every little sound, or feel like you need to know what is happening around you. You might feel most comfortable when you are prepared for what could go wrong and know where the exits are.

• Having a strong reaction to things other people seem to handle easily. A particular tone of voice, facial expression, conflict, criticism, being ignored, or feeling out of control may cause a reaction that feels much bigger than the situation seems to warrant to yourself or others.

• Automatically trying to keep other people happy. You may find yourself constantly monitoring other people's moods, avoiding disagreement, apologizing quickly, or changing what you want or need to prevent someone else from becoming upset.

• Shutting down when things become overwhelming. Instead of becoming visibly upset, you might go quiet, feel numb, become very tired, have trouble thinking, feel disconnected from yourself, or simply want to disappear for a while.

• Having difficulty trusting people. You may want close relationships but have trouble believing that people will stay, that they genuinely care about you, or that it is safe to depend on someone. You may have a pattern of disrupted relationships that feels confusing to you, or frequently find yourself in relationship with others who are not safe.

• Having physical reactions to stress. Trauma-related stress can sometimes show up in the body through muscle tension, headaches, stomach problems, racing heart, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, or feeling constantly keyed up. You may notice that these reactions are stronger during certain times of year, such as anniversaries of the event, or after experiencing reminders of the event.

• Having unwanted thoughts or memories pop into your mind. You may suddenly remember something upsetting, have images or thoughts about something that happened, or find yourself replaying a situation even when you do not want to think about it. Sometimes these memories can feel vivid or emotionally intense, while other times you may only notice a feeling, image, sensation, or fragment of the memory without immediately understanding where it came from. You may also experience nightmares or flashbacks.

• Avoiding certain situations without fully understanding why. You may put off certain conversations, places, people, activities, or topics because they make you uncomfortable, even if you cannot explain exactly what feels uncomfortable about them. There may be things that happened to you that you have never told anyone else. You may use substances, exercise, or overworking to keep your mind busy or avoid upsetting memories.

• Having a hard time managing strong emotions. Your emotions may feel very intense, change quickly, or take a long time to settle. You might go from feeling okay to overwhelmed, angry, anxious, or deeply sad, or you may have difficulty understanding what you are feeling until the emotion has become very strong. Sometimes you may cope by shutting down or disconnecting from your emotions altogether.

• Struggling with your sense of who you are. You may have difficulty knowing what you like, want, believe, or need, especially when those things might be different from what other people expect of you. You may be very self-critical or feel like something is fundamentally wrong with you.

If you have had one or more of these experiences, you are not alone. You may be experiencing a trauma-related disorder, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD, or an adjustment disorder.

At Songbird Psychological Services, our clinicians have extensive training and experience in treating trauma-related disorders. We are committed to evidence-based, culturally responsive care. We treat trauma-related disorders alone and also when they are happening at the same time as another problem, such as an issue with substance use or an anxiety disorder.

Dr. Bethany DeHaven has a wide range of experience with trauma-related treatment including survivors of sexual violence, Veterans, survivors of abuse and neglect, those who have experienced medical trauma, traumatic loss, chronic stressors (i.e., racism, ableism, etc.), serious accidents, secondhand trauma, and more. She has specific training in treating co-occurring substance use disorders and PTSD in both individual and group settings.