The emotional and psychological aftermath of traumatic events can be every bit as devastating as physical damage.  Whether trauma stems from a personal tragedy, repeated trauma, a natural disaster, or other overwhelming life experiences, it can shatter our sense of security, making us feel vulnerable, helpless, even numb and disconnected from our self and other’s lives.

Trauma may occur when a person experiences a threat, including sexual violence, to physical or psychological survival of oneself or a close family member or friend.  We each have innate capabilities to respond to such situations and return to a state of equilibrium.  However, if the intensity of the situation overwhelms our resilience, often with intense helplessness, shame or terror, and we are not able to re-establish a sense of relative safety, our built-in survival mechanisms remain on high alert continually responding to threats, thus we become traumatized.

Each person will respond uniquely, according to their inner and outer resources, and different people experiencing similar situations may have different outcomes, ranging from short term impacts to long term post-traumatic impacts, or to increased resilience and post-traumatic growth.

As with grief there is no right or wrong way to feel after the events -only your way. Traumatic events that happened in the past possibly in childhood are still playing out in your life.  This may be why your present relationships are not what you need, want or desire.  Because we are so connected to our bodies, we can and often do experience physical pain.  The affected areas may well be the keeper of our pain/hurt stories. Addressing & releasing the blocked energy is very freeing, often there is a direct correlation from our emotional status to our physical ailments.

“Trauma creates change you didn’t choose.  Healing is about creating change you do choose.”  

Unknown