Dealing with Trauma
Someone might have told you that you should be over what happened by now.
Perhaps, you've told yourself that. My guess is that you may have tried to push away those uncomfortable thoughts of what happened, hoping they would disappear if you could just forget about them for now. And yet, the reminders of past situations continue to show up in your life. It makes sense from a brain and a body perspective. Those reminders-the flashbacks, the intense emotions, and the overwhelming body sensations-are ways that your brain is trying to keep you safe. However, they get in the way of living your life.
I'm here to help.
Together, we find that place where you can finally think about what happened without feeling overwhelmed or numbed out. I will help you develop tools and strategies to help you feel safe both in and out of session. And when we wade into the murky water of your past experiences, you will have control. You get to set the pace. My goal is to help you keep one foot in the present and the other in the past so that you can find new insight (and perhaps compassion for yourself) about what happened. By facing those experiences in a safe, supportive environment, you can start to imagine what life might look like afterward. You can finally have days where you ride the wave of emotion rather than feeling like you are being tossed around by the wave. You can start to do the things you always dreamed about doing but were too scared to try. Or, you can return a sense of normalcy: a routine no longer disrupted by upsetting memories.
There is hope.
Your past might be part of your story, but it does not have to be the whole story.
Dealing with Anxiety
Trying to control fear and worry is exhausting.
We often try to avoid thoughts or emotions that are painful. It seems logical to avoid the stuff that bothers us. Why would we want to feel feelings that cause we discomfort? The downside is that we cannot selectively numb emotions. When we numb the negative, we may also be missing out on feeling the positive.
Together, we can find a new way.
Dealing with anxiety often requires you to face the things that are trying to avoid. Just like in dealing with trauma, we won't dive into the deep end right away. First, we will work to develop tools and strategies for dealing with difficult emotions. Then, we can look at the thoughts and emotions that are driving the bus and how we can re-frame them.
Often times, people find that facing the difficult emotions reduces their intensity.
The thoughts and emotions that perpetuate worry and anxiety are like monsters under the bed. When the lights are off (or you avoid thinking about them), they feel like they may consume you. However, they often turn into dust bunnies when the lights are on. I want to give you the tools to be able to turn on the light and face all emotions without feeling afraid or overwhelmed.