Sometimes its hard to put into words how we are feeling.
Including me today it would seem.
Unusual I know.......
When we experience this, perhaps it’s a lesson to learn that we do not always have to have an obvious cause?
Indeed we are often unaware as to the causes of our reactions. They can come from a deeper subconscious place. Sometimes they come from historic traumas.
Unresolved trauma can be an underlying feature for people who often describe:
‘Feeling like they’re cracking up’.
They don’t attribute their past traumas as the reason they are not coping today, they just know they feel tired, stressed, moody, anxious….
Its easy to understand why people may not consider historic events.
Why would it be that thing that happened? That was ages ago!
People with unresolved trauma regularly don’t talk about ‘the thing’
Their instinct and need is to do the opposite. To avoid thinking about ‘it’ to use tactics to not relive that ‘thing’. This is because when triggered a person re-experiences as if it were happening again, now.
What do I mean by that? Well....
Traumatic memories are not just stored in the head.
We are whole beings, emotions connect to memories, memories to feelings and feelings to physical response and so on. So, when we re-experience a past trauma we do it holistically as if reliving completely. That includes the racing heart, sweaty palms, fear, panic etc…It is in short overwhelming.
But people generally cannot say – ‘you know that thing that happened back then? Well I’ve just relived it again, just been back there, just felt it, smelt it, feared I would die….. and that’s why I’m now acting a bit off’!
Of course, they don’t.
They quietly try to push it away again, back into the past and say nothing.
But if that happened today and last week and tomorrow and has been for a year or two or ten, well you can see how drained people become.
Many people know I am fascinated with trauma and the brains response to traumatic incidents. I’ve worked with it since the 1990’s and I’m still learning. EMDR is the latest trauma a focused tool I added to my therapeutic toolbox and I have to say I’m delighted with the results that clients have achieved with it.
It is now the most common tool I use in therapy sessions with clients.
It does however make sense that EMDR is successful when working with trauma because it allows for the client to work through the trauma in a safe yet holistic way.
I often refer to it as ‘joining the dots’.
And on that note I realise what I am feeling today has changed.
In writing this short piece those feelings (whatever they were) have gone, changed or simply been allowed to happen and mosey on by.
The power of being in touch with things we are passionate about is apparent again!
If you would like to know more about EMDR or to book a consultation, please do get in touch.
Sue