What does the recent fire in Maui, Hawaii, and the war in Ukraine, have in common?
Both of these situations carry various degrees of trauma.
What is Trauma?
Trauma is self-defined from person-to-person and can include either little ‘t’ or big ‘T’ traumas or both – which these situations all contain.
How Does Trauma Occur?
Trauma occurs when our predictable daily life is suddenly jolted out of our normal routines. When this happens our brains shift into survival mode. Our general responses include:
- Fight
- Flight
- Freeze
- Collapse
Why Do Our Brains Work Like This?
Great question. Our brains have evolved throughout millennia and include three major areas.
- Area One – our brain stem which controls our breathing, sleeping, and hunger patterns.
Trauma can suck the energy out of life. - Area Two – the limbic system helps use interpret sensory information, interpret emotions, create emotions to express, and memory storage.
- Area Three – is our cerebral cortex which includes our prefrontal cortex. These areas help use make rational decision, reason, judge, assess, and manipulate information.
With these areas of the brain in mind, when our brain interprets or perceives trauma our brains automatically respond or react. Our amygdala kicks into gear (fear sensing area of the brain) which takes our rational, prefrontal cortex offline. After repeated traumatic events, think prolonged childhood neglect, our brains become acutely aware of possible trauma triggers. So then, actual treats to our safety do not even need to be present. Simply a cue or reminder can put someone into a trauma response.
Can People Heal From Trauma?
Yes. Some people may heal faster than others and that is why commitment to therapy is so important. Eye Movement Desensitization and Repressing (EMDR) therapy is an evidenced-based form of psychotherapy that has shown to be effective to reduce traumatic symptoms.
Can EMDR Help Alleviate Other Symptoms?
There is new researching coming out that EMDR therapy may help alleviate symptoms of depression, self-harm, anxiety/panic, addiction, as well as trauma. There is newer researching coming out that EMDR may be utilized to reduce psychotic symptoms.
How to find an EMDR therapist in Kenosha, Wisconsin?
A simple google search for ‘trauma therapist near you’ can yield beneficial results. You can be more specific in your search if you know you are looking for an EMDR therapist. Either way, it is important to vet a potential therapist to ensure you are good fit for their services.
Does Revitalize Mental Health PLLC offer EMDR therapy?
Yes, we do. If you would like to schedule a free 20-minute consultation call to see how EMDR therapy can benefit you – call now – 720.295.6703.  You can also submit a form here. We look forward to hearing from you!
