A Closer Look at Trauma and How It Affects the Brain

Most people understand that trauma can wreak havoc on your mental well-being—but it is so much more than just living with negative memories or fearful flashbacks. Traumatic experiences can actually change the chemistry and structure of your brain, leaving a lasting impact that is hard to heal from on your own.

The effects of trauma can linger for years because of these brain alterations, causing problems in everything from your career to your relationships.

Understanding how trauma affects the brain can be the necessary first step in coming to terms with your experience and seeking out the help you deserve. Here is a closer look at the changes your brain can go through after a traumatic event, and what you can do to start healing.

Boosted Amygdala Activity

The amygdala is the area of the brain responsible for processing your emotions—including fear. When you experience a traumatic event, the amygdala is not just triggered. It can become overly reactive. Essentially, your “fight-or-flight” response is on nearly all of the time. This causes heightened anxiety and can make you feel like there are threats everywhere, even when there are not.

While your brain’s response to fear is a survival mechanism, it is not something that is meant to be “on” all the time. If you start to react with impulse to perceived threats or you are always on alert, it is likely to cause a lot of stress and anxiety in your life.

A Blow to the Hippocampus

The hippocampus is responsible for memory storage and consolidation. Trauma can make it difficult for the hippocampus to work properly, so you might struggle with creating new memories.

If you have heard of trauma causing flashbacks and nightmares, that is also due to a dysfunction within the hippocampus. You are more likely to experience flashbacks of what happened to you. Because your new memories might not be getting stored properly, those flashbacks can often seem very real, making you feel like the traumatic experience is happening all over again.

Prefrontal Cortex Problems

The prefrontal cortex controls rational thinking and problem-solving within the brain. When you have experienced trauma, it can become less effective. That can make it difficult to think things through, overcome challenges, or see the bigger picture of a problem.

Children and teens do not have a fully developed prefrontal cortex. How do they think about things? They often lead with emotions and are not always thinking about the long-term consequences of their actions. The same problem can happen when your prefrontal cortex becomes less effective. Unfortunately, as an adult, having trouble concentrating or problem-solving can create issues in your relationships, your career, and more.

Healing the Brain

It can be scary and overwhelming to think that your brain changes after a traumatic experience. But, with the right treatment and support, you can heal from the effects of trauma and retrain your brain to work the way it should again.

There are many things you can do on your own to promote healing in your daily life. Self-care practices, mindfulness, meditation, and journaling are all great ways to start fighting back against the effects of trauma—including negative invasive thoughts.

The best way to walk through your healing journey is to work with a mental health professional. Trauma therapy can help you dig into the core of your trauma. When you learn where it stems from, you can start to challenge the negative thoughts while managing your symptoms more effectively. All the while, you will be healing the impact of trauma on your brain, so things will start to work normally once again.

If you are ready to take that step or you want to learn more, feel free to contact my office for a consultation.

What Is Reparenting?

In a perfect world, everyone would grow up with loving parents or caregivers. They would experience the right amount of emotional and physical attention, support, and nurturing. They would form secure bonds and attachments from an early age that would allow them to feel that sense of security in all relationships as they grow.

Unfortunately, we all know we don’t live in that world. Far too often, the emotional and physical needs of children aren’t met. It can lead to serious psychological issues later in life, impacting relationships, personal views, and so much more.

That’s why the practice of reparenting has become increasingly popular as a way to heal emotional childhood wounds.

Let’s take a closer look at reparenting, what it really is, and how you can use it to give yourself the care you deserved as a child.

What Does Reparenting Really Mean?

The concept of reparenting isn’t new. It’s been around in some form since the 1970s, though has undergone changes over the years. Today, most reparenting is considered self-reparenting. It focuses on the idea that if you had unmet emotional or physical needs as a child, you can essentially give yourself what your caregivers did not.

Maybe you had a caregiver who lacked affection, made you feel unsafe, or didn’t provide structure in your life. As an adult, you can learn new ways to harness those things yourself. You’ll develop a greater sense of self and learn how to foster healthy relationships along the way. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve whatever you were lacking in childhood due to your parent or caregiver.

Why Reparenting Can Be Helpful

Reparenting can be impactful for anyone who experienced a childhood with unmet needs. Maybe you’ve tried to repress some of those negative memories, but they’ve led to unhealthy habits as an adult.

With that being said, reparenting can be helpful if you’re trying to overcome those unhealthy patterns. Maybe you have trouble communicating effectively, or your own insecurities tend to sabotage relationships.

By breaking down negative patterns that stem from childhood, you’re able to learn healthier, more effective ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Reparenting gives you the opportunity to learn what healthy communication looks like, as well as healthy relationships. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to better understand and express your emotions. Not only will that improve your sense of self, but it will make it easier to understand others, especially when it comes to relationships.

What to Expect

The process of reparenting takes time. After all, you’re trying to break patterns and habits that began years ago. But you don’t have to do it on your own. Even if you’re considering self-reparenting, consider working with a therapist to help guide you through the process.

Keep in mind that part of the process will likely include looking back on painful experiences from childhood. If you’ve been trying to avoid or ignore those experiences, this can be a difficult journey—but it’s a necessary first step in the healing process.

In addition to looking back on where the negative patterns came from, you’ll learn how to exchange them for healthier habits that can completely change the way you see yourself and those around you. Be patient with yourself, show self-compassion and kindness, and keep your expectations realistic. If you’re frustrated with your progress or run into bumps in the road due to negative thought patterns, talk things through with your therapist.

You don’t have to live with the effects of attachment issues or unmet needs from childhood forever. Reparenting is a great way to break the cycle of negativity that’s likely had a hold on your life for too long. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us for information about trauma therapy or to set up an appointment.

How Does Brainspotting Work and What Are the Benefits?

There are a variety of therapies and modalities designed to help with the lasting effects of trauma. However, many of them involve a lot of talking, which can be difficult for trauma survivors or those dealing with setbacks. 

One of the most unique forms of therapies that can help with these issues is brainspotting. If you’ve ever heard of eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing, the two therapies have similarities. However, key differences are important to note if you’re trying to find the right treatment option. 

Let’s take a closer look at brainspotting, how it works, and some of the greatest benefits, so you can determine if it’s the right type of therapy for you. 

What Is Brainspotting?

Like EMDR, brainspotting utilizes bilateral stimulation to help you heal from trauma or other types of emotional stress. It focuses on the idea that different “spots” within the brain must be focused on to heal from those painful memories. 

These spots are within the visual field, so your therapist might use their finger or an object to guide your eyes back and forth until they notice any changes (such as eye fluttering). These spots are connected to certain memories and emotions. Brainspotting is identifying those spots and unlocking memories that have otherwise been tucked away so your body can start to heal itself naturally. 

Over time, once those memories are reprocessed, brainspotting can help develop new neuropathways. That doesn’t mean you forget about the memories. You can look at them from a different perspective without fear or pain. 

How Does it Work? 

So, how can someone identify where a brainspot actually is? During a typical session, your therapist will ask you to focus on a specific traumatic event or memory. In contrast, your therapist guides your eye movement with their finger or an object. 

Your therapist will watch your eyes move from left to right to notice any changes in your movements or actions. If you blink rapidly or your eyes flutter, they’ll look closer at that spot and your stored memory. 

When a brainspot activates, your therapist can work with you to dive into that memory and learn how to reprocess it into something healthier and less overwhelming. Stored trauma can negatively impact your mind and body. Brainspotting is an effective way to release it. 

Brainspotting isn’t some kind of magic solution. Once you discover a traumatic memory, it can be difficult or even scary to feel like you’re reliving it. But knowing you’re in a safe location with someone who can help you work through it can make a big difference. You can finally start to heal with strength and support. 

What Are the Benefits?

So, what can you expect from brainspotting? Why might it be a better choice than other forms of talk therapy? 

The strongest benefit is the research that shows its success. It’s been found over and over again to successfully help people struggling with trauma, including complex trauma. It also helps people deal with anxiety, depression, and even OCD. 

Another great benefit is that brainspotting isn’t something you’ll have to continue doing for the rest of your life. Once your neuropathways are open to new ideas and you’ve been able to process and let go of stored trauma, you can start the next chapter of your life without continuing therapy. 

Interested in learning more about brainspotting and whether it can help you deal with unprocessed stored trauma? Feel free to contact us to set up an appointment for trauma therapy.

Do Women and Men React Differently to Trauma?

Trauma doesn’t discriminate. It also doesn’t specifically seek out or affect one sex over another. It can happen to anyone at any stage of life. However, how people react and process trauma can be different. 

Men and women react to trauma differently in a variety of ways. That reaction carries over into how they cope with trauma, and those coping mechanisms often either make it easier to work through the effects of trauma or make things seem much worse. 

Let’s take a closer look at these different reactions. If you’ve experienced any kind of traumatic event, understanding typical responses and ways of coping might help you realize what you’re going through. More importantly, it can encourage you to reach out for the right kind of help. 

How Do Women React to Trauma?

Research has shown that men are actually more likely to go through traumatic experiences than women. However, women tend to have a harder time working through the effects of trauma. As a result, women are more susceptible to PTSD. 

This is largely due to the fact that women tend to re-experience whatever trauma they went through more often. Things like flashbacks and vivid dreams often make it difficult for women to move forward and get past the trauma they experienced. This can make the trauma feel very fresh, even if it happened years ago. 

So, it should come as no surprise that women who have gone through trauma are more likely to be anxious or depressed. They can often seem jumpy and are typically hypervigilant. 

Women tend to cope with trauma by adopting a “tend and befriend” approach. They feel the need to take care of those around them and to lean into their social circle of friends and family to find support. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, if no support is available, it can exacerbate the symptoms of PTSD and increase the risk of trying unhealthy coping mechanisms. 

How Do Men React to Trauma?

Men are more likely to experience trauma largely because they’re at a greater risk of things like physical assault, accidents, or experiencing different disasters. How they react and process that trauma is very different from women. The “fight or flight” response in men who have experienced trauma is often in full force. 

Societal norms come into play when it comes to how men react to trauma. It’s not uncommon for them to experience anger. However, it’s often a mask to cover up deeper emotions that might not be considered “strong” by societal standards. Under the surface, it’s not uncommon for men who have experienced trauma to feel fearful, anxious, sad, or even frustrated. 

Men tend to have a harder time accepting and processing these emotions. So, they lean into anger and cope with things by showing as much strength as they can. 

As a positive, men are more likely to take a focused and determined approach to overcoming the effects of trauma. They want to problem-solve and figure out ways to move past it. There are healthy ways to do that, of course. But, there are also unhealthy coping mechanisms that can creep in, especially for men who aren’t willing to dive deeper into their own emotions. 

What Can You Do?

Again, trauma doesn’t discriminate by gender. Whether you’re a man or a woman, the long-lasting effects of a traumatic experience can make it difficult to live your life to the fullest. You might feel tied to your trauma and unable to move forward. 

No matter who you are, therapy is often the best way to deal with a traumatic experience. A therapist can help you better understand what you went through and the emotions it’s causing. You’ll also learn healthy coping mechanisms that can help you move forward so your trauma won’t define your thoughts, feelings, and actions forever. 

Reach out to learn more about trauma therapy.

How Can You Heal From Betrayal Trauma?

Betrayal trauma occurs when someone who is supposed to take care of you violates your trust or your well-being. It’s something that typically happens in childhood. It’s the responsibility of a parent or caregiver to provide for a child’s basic needs. If that doesn’t happen, that child could deal with the effects of betrayal trauma. 

Things like physical, emotional, or sexual abuse perpetrated by a caregiver or someone taking care of you are also all forms of betrayal trauma that can occur at any age. 

It’s hard to imagine something worse than being betrayed in such a way by someone who is supposed to love and care for you. Unfortunately, it happens far too often, and the damage is often severe. Betrayal trauma is more than just about a break in trust. It can have lasting negative effects. 

Thankfully, it’s possible to heal from this type of trauma with the right help. 

What Are the Signs of Betrayal Trauma?

It’s not uncommon for adults who experienced betrayal trauma as a child to attempt to live normal lives. You might not fully remember what happened to you. Or, you might try to block it out as often as possible. 

But, no matter when you experience this type of trauma, the signs and symptoms are usually quite telling. Some of the most common symptoms of betrayal trauma include: 

• Difficulty understanding or expressing your emotions

• Nightmares

• Anxiety and depression

• Panic attacks

• Attachment issues

• Problems trusting other people

Betrayal trauma can even lead to physical symptoms, like stomach problems and aches and pains. When you internalize your trauma, especially for a long time, your body will end up “storing” it and letting you know something is wrong, whether you actually remember the trauma or not. 

The Stages of Betrayal Trauma

Even if you were betrayed as a child, you might only be remembering or coming to terms with that trauma now. It’s important to understand that there are stages to work through, and healing from this type of trauma takes time. 

It’s perfectly normal and expected for the first stage to be shock and disbelief. After all, you trusted this person. They were supposed to take care of you, and they hurt you instead. 

The second stage can cause you to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. You’ll likely go from being sad to frustrated and angry to confused — and everything in between. Allow yourself to fully feel and experience these emotions. Don’t try to ignore them or push them down, but don’t stay in those negative depths forever. 

Finally, you’ll step into the third stage where healing really begins. You’ll be able to rebuild trust, boost your sense of self-worth, and open yourself up to others again. 

The Journey Toward Healing

Once you reach that third stage, a whole new journey begins — a journey toward healing. It starts with accepting what happened. That’s not always easy to do, especially if you’ve been trying to ignore or avoid it for a long time. 

But, the sooner you accept the trauma as real, the sooner you’ll be able to recognize that it doesn’t have to have power over you. 

Again, don’t hesitate to really feel your emotions. Bottling things up will only make the recovery process longer and more difficult. Lean on your support system and let people in to help you. Open up to the people you love and trust, and you’ll quickly see that they want to help in whatever ways possible. 

Finally, don’t hesitate to reach out to us about trauma therapy. Betrayal trauma can be deeply painful, and even confusing. You’re not alone, and you can find a sense of security again while building your self-esteem. 

How Does The Brain Change With EMDR Therapy?

EMDR therapy has become exceedingly popular in recent years, largely due to how effective it is. It’s most common for issues like trauma, but it can also help with anxiety disorders and phobias. 

Whether you’ve tried more traditional forms of talk therapy or you’re just interested in taking a different approach to the healing process, EMDR can be a big help. 

But, does EMDR actually affect or change your brain? If so, how? Let’s take a closer look at the lasting effects of EMDR, why it’s such an effective form of therapy, and the changes you can expect if you decide to work with an EMDR therapist yourself. 

Brain Stimulation

The rapid eye movement that occurs during EMDR stimulates the brain. You think about the traumatic memories or experiences you’ve gone through while moving your eyes back and forth quickly. 

That stimulation is necessary to help your brain process memories and truly start healing. The stimulation doesn’t cause extra stress. Rather, the process slows down your amygdala and makes it easier to process the traumatic memory without having to live in fear or distress from it. 

What does that mean? 

When you experience a traumatic event, your emotions start to take control. That’s the responsibility of the amygdala. The prefrontal cortex is the rational thinking part of your brain. It experiences a reduction in control when your amygdala is overstimulated. 

When that happens, it can feel like the trauma you experienced just happened, even if it technically occurred years ago. Those memories get “stuck” in the amygdala. So, they feel just as relevant and scary as ever. 

EMDR helps to reduce that overstimulation. 

Giving the Prefrontal Cortex More Control

EMDR moves your eyes from side to side for a reason. You do the same thing when you’re dreaming at night. 

Studies have shown that during REM sleep (rapid eye movements), memories can move out of the amygdala and the rest of the brain can start to process them. 

When you work with an EMDR therapist, they help to slow down your amygdala the same way a state of deep sleep would. It’s just temporary, but it helps your brain waves to become more synchronized, allowing other areas of the brain to help you process memories – including the prefrontal cortex which makes things easier to rationalize. 

The Importance of Reprocessing

The second part of EMDR is reprocessing. Once you’re able to get your traumatic memories “unstuck”, you can begin to process them and reprocess them in healthier ways. 

What’s interesting about EMDR is that it doesn’t remove the traumatic memories from your mind. It doesn’t try to make you forget or “overcome” what might have happened to you in the past. 

Rather, it makes it easier for your brain to process those memories correctly. It essentially hands them over to the prefrontal cortex. So, you can think more rationally about what happened to you, and start to feel like you’re more in control than before. You can use those reprocessing skills every day to understand that whatever you went through is not going to hurt you now. 

The effects of EMDR are lasting. It doesn’t necessarily change the way your brain works or any structuring. But, it helps your traumatic memories feel less overwhelming by making sure they don’t get caught in the wrong place. 

If you’re interested in learning more about EMDR or Trauma Therapy and how it might benefit you, feel free to contact us. Even though this type of therapy is becoming more popular, it’s still perfectly common to have questions when it comes to what you should expect throughout your sessions. I’m here to help. 

What Is Complex PTSD And Who Does It Impact?

Most people have a basic understanding of PTSD and trauma, in general. However, complex PTSD (CPTSD) is often lesser-known, but perhaps even more difficult to deal with. 

Complex PTSD occurs when someone has some (or all) of the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder but also exhibits additional symptoms. That typically includes difficulty controlling their emotions. 

If you have CPTSD, you might have a hard time trusting people. You might have a negative view of the world, and feelings of deep anger or fear. 

Obviously, these symptoms and emotions can negatively impact your life. CPTSD can affect your relationships, your career, and even the way you see yourself. 

Let’s take a closer look at what CPTSD really is, and who is most likely to be affected by it. 

What Causes Complex PTSD? 

Complex PTSD is often caused by ongoing trauma. Things like childhood abuse or neglect, abandonment, or ongoing domestic violence are all possible causes. These are events that happen over and over again, and can deeply impact the way you see yourself, others, and the world. 

“Traditional” PTSD typically refers to something that happened once or something that was never ongoing. Because those who experience CPTSD have had to go through traumatic events over and over, the symptoms become more complicated. 

What Are the Symptoms?

On the surface, you might not immediately recognize the differences between PTSD and CPTSD. People who experience one or the other can deal with symptoms like: 

• Flashbacks

• Nightmares

• Heightened reactions

• Anxiety

• Depression

However, complex PTSD can also make it difficult to control how you’re feeling. You might experience additional symptoms, including: 

• Anger toward the world

• Distrust

• Feeling worthless or damaged

• Social isolation

• Dissociative symptoms

CPTSD can even cause physical symptoms to manifest, including headaches, stomach issues, and dizziness. 

Who Does Complex PTSD Impact? 

Anyone can experience CPTSD if they’ve been exposed to trauma over and over. However, some people might be at a greater risk of developing it if they experienced trauma at an early age or if they were harmed by someone they should have been able to trust. 

Unfortunately, so many people who are dealing with CPTSD try to run away from it. Because so many cases are rooted in childhood and young adulthood, it’s not uncommon for those suffering to try to “hide” their symptoms and even repress those memories. However, they always come forward, and symptoms are nearly impossible to ignore. 

How to Treat CPTSD

The first step in treating complex PTSD is to get an official diagnosis. This is a condition that is often misdiagnosed because not all professionals are aware of its complicated nature. If you’re struggling with the symptoms listed above and you’ve experienced long-lasting trauma, be sure to work with a professional who understands CPTSD and how to effectively treat it. 

Often, standard therapy treatments for PTSD can also help someone with CPTSD. But, it might take longer to recover, and the support you receive might need to be more intensive. 

It’s also important to practice self-care and to lean on a support system as you’re going through treatment for CPTSD. While it’s not always easy to let people in, especially if you’ve been struggling with guilt or shame over your trauma, it’s necessary to surround yourself with that kind of support. 

You don’t need to let complex PTSD control your life forever. You are more than what you’ve experienced. If you’re ready to break free from the chains of trauma, reaching out for help is often the hardest step. Feel free to contact us for more information or to set up an appointment as soon as possible. for trauma therapy.

What Is Brainspotting And How Does It Help With Trauma?

After going through a traumatic event, it can be challenging to move on. It is hard to find the relief you need from the symptoms that seem to haunt you at every turn. From panic attacks, nightmares, to avoidance, the aftermath of trauma can be debilitating.

This is no fault of your own. Growing evidence suggests that our minds and bodies have a way of storing and holding on to trauma. Trauma can literally be embedded into your brain. The brain is a powerful and complicated piece of equipment.

Decades ago, it was thought that the brain stopped growing or developing after a certain age. Thankfully through advancements in science, we now know that this is far from the truth. Our brains never stop creating new pathways and connections. Which means that there is always hope for healing past wounds.

What Is Trauma?

You have probably heard of someone being traumatized. While many people jokingly talk about this, trauma is a very real and scary situation that people find themselves in. If someone has gone through a traumatic event, this may be because of:

• Domestic or Sexual Abuse

• Car Accidents

• Witnessing A Crime

• Child Abuse

• Emotional Abuse

Essentially, any event that left a lasting and negative impact on a person's psychological well-being can be considered a traumatic event. But, is there anything that can help someone through this?

What Is Brainspotting?

At first glance, the word brainspotting makes this therapy method seem more complex than it actually is. While it is a newer treatment approach for trauma, growing evidence and studies are showing just how effective it really is.

Most people have at least heard of EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR is typically the first choice to help clients heal from a traumatic incident or past. Brainspotting is an offshoot of that.

EMDR relies on rapid eye movements to promote healing. Brainspotting relies on eye movement, as well, but instead of rapidly moving the eyes, you are focused on one specific spot. Brainspotting connects to how the brain will store a traumatic memory.

These traumatic memories will manifest themselves through physiological reactions and responses. In order to trigger these responses in a healthy way is to focus the eye on one specific spot, which is where the term brainspotting even comes from.

How It Works

Most Brainspotting sessions will begin by making sure you feel calm. From there, the therapist observes physical reactions as the eyes move such as:

• Facial twitching

• Small lip movements

• Changes in posture

• Excessive blinking

This how your therapist helps you find your brain spot. Where your eyes focus on when you are physically uncomfortable is the gateway to the deeper brain. Accessing this part of your brain is what helps you begin processing the trauma.

Healing From Trauma Using Your Own Brain

Both the brain and body hold on to traumatic memories. Alternatively, and thankfully, they can also help you heal.

As different brain spots are identified by the therapist, they will work with you to begin processing the traumatic memory that is associated with that spot in the brain.

Identifying these spots can help release the stored trauma that the body and mind has held on to.

Finding The Right Therapist

Working with a therapist who is trained in brainspotting will greatly increase the chance of you healing from past wounds.

While it is a new approach, I am confident that together, we can help you heal from the past for a better tomorrow. Connect with us today to begin this journey.