Closure without Disclosure.  How would it feel to get rid of instrusive thoughts about a traumatic event without telling anyone about it?

If you have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to a traumatic experience, that has lasted long after the event has ended, you may have PTSD.   Do you sometimes relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares? You may even feel fear, anger or sadness, which can leave you feeling detached or estranged from other people. People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event, and they may have strong negative reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accidental touch.

Have you had exposure to an upsetting traumatic event that is now affecting your life? The exposure could be indirect rather than first hand. For example, trauma can occur in an individual learning about the violent death of a close family or friend. It can also occur as a result of repeated exposure to horrible details or trauma, such as people in roles where they may hear details about abuse, or experience people dying in difficult circumstances.

Your amygdala, (part of your ‘fight or flight’response), triggers your natural alarm system. When you experience a disturbing event, it sends a signal that causes a fear response. This makes sense when your alarm is set off at the right time and for the right reason: to keep you safe. Those with PTSD tend to have an overactive response, so something as harmless as a car backfiring could instantly trigger panic. Your amygdala is a primitive,  part of your brain that’s wired to ensure survival. As it’s only designed for survival, when it’s overactive, you almost become temporarily ‘stupid’, unable to make rational decisions.

On the other hand, your  prefrontal cortex is objective,  helps you think through decisions, observe how you’re thinking, and put on the “brakes” when you realise something you first feared isn’t actually a threat after all. Your prefrontal cortex helps regulate emotional responses triggered by the amygdala.

Sometimes we need a little help to switch off this high alert trigger and engage the more objective part of our brain.

How Can I Help?

By using a therapy that has been designed specifically to address what has happened in your brain, we are able to help your brain to ‘file away’ the traumatic event, as we do with normal daily challenges – allowing you to feel calm and relaxed once again.

Why not take the first step in helping you to move forward and book a FREE trauma discovery session.