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Trauma and PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Carolyn Burnett Counsellor and Psychotherapist

Trauma and PTSD


Psychological Trauma is emotional turmoil that happens as a result of a severely distressing event, usually sudden and life threatening like an earthquake, war experiences, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a medical trauma.
​After a traumatic experience, the mind and body are in shock. As you make sense of the event , talk with friends and process it you eventually move on and adapt to it. With PTSD this processing and normal adaptation becomes stuck.
Trauma can be caused by a wide range of events, but we know now that there are common features to this experience.​
The traumatic event is completely outside the persons experience, it is potentially life threatening, it violates their values,  or their human rights like violence or sexual abuse, the event was completely out of their control, they survived where others did not, they were unable to get help and support or they became helpless during the event.

Not everyone responds to traumatic events in the same way.
Small t Trauma's​

​The list of small trauma's is not exhausted here but what we mean by this is often a series of small trauma's that happen over time but are reinforced over and over and lead to anxiety and depression etc.  We often do not recognise these as trauma's;

like varying degrees of bullying
criticisms about ones personal appearance or achievements
failures
social isolation and lack of friendship groups
family illness and consequences for the child's development
parents mental health behaviour
infidelty
parents favouring a sibling
parents high expectations
​parents not recognising and encouraging a childs strengths and gifts etc.

 Big T Trauma's;one off events or events repeated over time
abuse                                         medical procedure
domestic violence                   difficult birth
sexual abuse                            chronic or acute disease diagnosis
car accident                             witnessing violence                 
war experiences                      threats and bullying
death of a loved one               work experiences

vicarious trauma's in professional experiences
​terror related experiences



Trauma Symptoms

These can vary between individuals but include the following;
​bad dreams and nightmares
numb or vigilant to any noises or stimulation
profound sense of shock
memory of the event and feelings are disconnected
​intrusive flashbacks of the event including all or some
of he senses i.e. smell,
feeling tearful or overwhelmed by anything reminding
you of the event,
breathing problems and panic attacks
sweating or heart racing
problems with relationships
problems sleeping
angry outbursts and irritation
difficulty concentrating 
fear of event happening again
on guard
loss of interest in normal activities
self blame, shame and guilt
body pains
isolation and alienation from loved ones
suicidal thoughts
 misuse of drugs or alcohol
​

In my practice I see a lot of Individuals who have experienced Trauma. 
People seem to share a few things in common.  One that there is trauma or a series of unresolved traumas in their history apart from the current trauma.
Sometimes clients do not recognise some of their experiences as Trauma and in many ways Psychiatry and Psychology still struggle to identify certain conditions as trauma related.

I am an experienced trauma therapist with a number of years of trauma work with many different kinds of trauma, some small t and some big T trauma experiences. This can be either experienced directly or witnessed, especially as a child.
Call Carolyn on 07852598005 between 8:30 and 8:00pm Monday to Friday or Saturday mornings between 9:00 and 1:00pm.

  • Home
  • Counselling Services
    • Issues Addressed >
      • Abuse-Emotional Physical and sexual Abuse
      • Relationship Difficulties
      • Depression
      • Anxiety
      • Self Harm
      • Trauma and PTSD
    • Individual Counselling
    • Family Counselling
    • Couples Counselling
  • EMDR
  • About me
    • Experience
    • Training
    • Registration details
  • Contact
  • Fees
  • Blog