Is Past Trauma Keeping You Stuck, Sad And Lost In Life?
Were you emotionally, physically or sexually abused or severely neglected as a child? Did your parents work too much or abuse drugs or alcohol, or were they largely absent for other reasons? Was your childhood chaotic, unstable or rigid? As an adult, do you still carry childhood pain, feel perpetually unsatisfied with your life or struggle with low self-esteem? Perhaps you have difficulty maintaining healthy relationships and can’t seem to trust anyone – even yourself sometimes. Or maybe you worry incessantly and often feel that you’re not worthy or good enough. Do you struggle with weight or sleep issues? Do you find it challenging to concentrate, follow-through with tasks and manage financial concerns? Do you wish that you had the insight, energy and confidence needed to make better choices and move forward on a healthy life path?
Suffering the long-term repercussions of childhood trauma can be an exhausting, confusing, overwhelming and lonely experience. It’s the role of a parent to nurture a child, and when children grow up with abusive or neglectful parents, many are unable to trust others or forge healthy relationships. It’s not uncommon for childhood dysfunctions and patterns to spill over into adulthood, often causing adults who were traumatized as children to experience anger, depression, anxiety, substance abuse issues and ongoing career and financial distress.
Childhood Trauma Is More Common Than You May Think
Roughly 60 percent of adults have reported abuse or other difficult family circumstances that occurred during their childhoods. While childhood abuse or other challenges may not lead to trauma, for many people they do. Trauma is highly individualized and experienced as a perceived sense of helplessness. What is deeply traumatizing to one person may have much less of an impact on another. Trauma is also expressed across a wide spectrum. A mild trauma may leave you feeling a little empty or lost, while extreme trauma can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can cause long-term problems.
If you experienced childhood trauma and feel like life is harder for you than for others, you are not alone. Adults who suffered trauma during childhood are twice as likely to struggle financially, three times more likely to have job problems and/or experience depression and four times more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol.
If you experienced childhood trauma, the good news is that relief is possible. Through working with a therapist who specializes in trauma therapy, you can begin to heal and move forward on a healthier life path.
Trauma Therapy Can Empower You to Move Forward With Self-Love and Confidence
In sessions together, we can identify, explore and address the issues and negative self-talk practices that are holding you back from enjoying your life. It’s not unusual for people who have experienced childhood trauma to play “tapes” over and over in their heads. You may constantly tell yourself that you’re too stupid to achieve your goals or not worthy of happiness or love. In therapy, we’ll work on changing these thoughts. Once you begin to change thoughts, you can change feelings, then behaviors, and then real life change can occur. You can begin to believe that it is possible for you to go back to school, get a job or find a healthy partner. I can help you to recognize your intrinsic worth and empower you to make the healthy changes you desire, even if you were taught as a child that you couldn’t.
In sessions, you can also begin to better understand your trauma and the person or people who hurt you. You can learn that the trauma was not your fault – you did not ask for the abuse or neglect. Once you better understand what happened to you, you can clear space for healing. And, if you haven’t already, you can begin to forgive, accept and move on.
I am here to help you regain your voice. I am nonjudgmental and supportive, and our work together is confidential. I will provide a safe place for you to discuss your pain, as well as to discover your strengths, which can be used to help mitigate the challenges that are holding you back.
Trauma therapy can be so effective. Once you’re educated about trauma, understand that you are not alone and feel supported in your therapeutic process, you can experience an immediate sense of relief and find a secure path to healing. You can build your self-esteem, begin to take healthy risks and experience peace. It is possible to begin to truly know that you are a worthy, good person who deserves healthy relationships and a positive, happy life.
You may think that trauma therapy could help, but still have questions or concerns…
I feel embarrassed and afraid to talk about the trauma. It happened so long ago and I’m scared of the feelings that may surface or what you might think of me.
Feeling both shame and fear about childhood trauma is extremely common. But, you are not alone. I have been helping clients work through their trauma and related issues for more than a decade and will provide you with a gentle, safe and nonjudgmental place to work through your painful feelings, shames and fears. I’ll meet you where you are emotionally, and you’ll set the pace of our sessions.
I have felt so bad for so long, I’m not sure that anything – even trauma therapy – can help me.
Feeling that you are beyond help may be a sign of depression, which is a common issue that arises for people who have been traumatized during childhood. You may also be battling many other things, including anxiety, difficulty in relationships or challenges with work, which are keeping you stuck and down. That said, relief and healing is possible. Over the last decade, I have seen others make amazing changes with the help of therapy. Healthy change and healing is possible for you, too. But, you need to try.
I know that I need support and think that trauma therapy could help, but I’m concerned about how much money and/or time it will take.
I invite you to look at trauma therapy as a valuable (possibly invaluable) investment in your future and current wellbeing. I also invite you to ask yourself how long you’ve felt stuck and unhappy. Your life can be different, but creating change requires you to invest in yourself and your future. Because trauma and the therapy process are highly individualized, the time and financial commitment varies. It took you quite some time to get where you are today, so it may take some time to heal. However, investing in therapy now can save you so much money and physical and emotional distress in the long run. You can learn how to maintain healthy relationships, develop healthy coping skills and love yourself again – or maybe for the first time. It is possible for you to feel happy and content, which can be priceless.
I invite you to call me for a free 15-minute phone consultation to discuss your specific needs and to answer any questions you may have about trauma therapy and my practice.
