Trauma Symptoms
Trauma has been described as anything that is “too much, too fast, too soon”, or “not enough for too long”
For trauma survivors, the experience they are left with is often confusing, overwhelming, and jumbled, with an overall experience of “I’m not normal”. The nature of trauma is that it’s anything but organized or clear, which means that if your symptoms leave you feeling confused, out of your Window of Tolerance, overwhelmed, or jumbled, you are totally normal.
Make sense?
Common trauma symptoms experienced by survivors can include depression, irritability, anxiety/panic, little or no memories of the event(s), difficulty sleeping, nightmares, feeling numb, feeling out of your body, disordered eating, shame, flashbacks, hyper-vigilance (constant scanning your environment to be safe), self-harm, hopelessness, and more.
Trauma Symptoms
Finding healing
Often, when trauma happens, it’s less about the event itself, and more about the beliefs we internalize about ourselves or the world in relation to the event.
Some common examples of this might be “I’m bad”, “I’m not good enough”, “I’m worthless”, “No one can be trusted”, “I don’t have choice”, and many more. Many times, we know these beliefs aren’t true, but they feel true.
If you experience these things, are interested in learning more, or feel ready to process the trauma you experienced, reach out to a trauma therapist. There’s support ready to help you in your healing process.
