Traumatic situations are unpredictable and can happen to anyone at any time, which is usually an aspect that makes situations traumatic. One common symptom of trauma is hypervigilance. This blog post will discuss how to manage hypervigilance after trauma from a trauma therapist’s perspective.
Due to the unpredictability of trauma, the body and mind can quickly become overwhelmed. Because of the overwhelm, fear, and stress from these situations, the nervous system uses responses that have been honed throughout evolution. Even though the body is great at responding to stress or trauma in the moment, it struggles to integrate small factors of past traumatic experiences when the trauma situation overwhelms the body. These unintegrated pieces of traumatic material then create traumatic symptoms in one’s life.
Hypervigilance is one of those trauma response symptoms. Due to the overwhelming, traumatic situation that somebody experienced in the past, their nervous system gets put into a constant state of hypervigilance. Even though you logically know where you are, you still can’t let your guard down. Trauma can also affect self-esteem and self-efficacy levels to the point where a person may not believe they can adequately resolve a trauma situation in the future.
Short and Long-Term Effects of Hypervigilance
Some traumatic symptoms will dissipate as time moves on. Right after a traumatic event, somebody can experience a wide range of trauma symptoms. Hypervigilance can be one of those symptoms, which is typically a natural response. It usually takes our body some time to naturally process the traumatic situation.
As time moves on, the hypervigilance may not always fade. Hypervigilance can swoop in and disrupt spending quality time with family or even while at work. It can show up and disrupt people’s sleep or their quality and length of sleep because of the fear of what might come. Being in a hypervigilant state can also fatigue and exhaust the body because your body is working so hard to keep you safe from real or perceived threats.
Can Hypervigilance be Healed?
People can heal from trauma and its trauma-related symptoms. This includes hypervigilance. Sometimes people can recover from past traumatic experiences on their own. Other times, it can be very beneficial to connect with a professional trauma therapist near you to help foster the internal healing that’s needed to bring about lasting change.
If you or someone you know is looking to heal from a past traumatic event or overwhelming situation, individual trauma therapy may be beneficial at this point. Trauma therapy can help you find internal peace and connect with those things that are most important to you in life. Don’t let trauma drive a wedge between you and the life you desire.
I’m currently accepting new in-person clients at Revitalize Mental Health. In-person therapy sessions are only offered on the weekends. Virtual therapy sessions are offered throughout the weekday evenings as well as on the weekends.
If you would like to learn more about how individual trauma therapy can benefit you, please click on the link here or give me a call at 720-295-6703. Once you reach out, we’ll schedule a free 15-minute consultation call to ensure we are a good fit together. And, if we both agree that we are a good fit to work together, then we’ll schedule our first appointment during the call. I look forward to hearing from you.
