Traumatic events such as war, rape, and severe accidents can lead people to suffer from symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). What we have recently discovered is that any event that is experienced as threatening can generate PTSD-like symptoms and negatively affect a person’s quality of life.Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) was developed by psychologist Peter A. Levine to address the effects of trauma....[ read more ]
The old saying goes, “In each life, a little rain must fall.” But, while some of us experience a little rain, others experience torrential downpours, hail, and high winds.Brainspotting (BSP) is a new type of therapy designed to help people overcome trauma, pain, and negative emotions. The method was discovered in 2003 by David Grand, Ph.D., and has been used...[ read more ]
Flashbacks are our brain’s way of processing traumatic events that we’ve experienced. But what tends to happen is, our subconscious goes to our storage cabinet to access some important memories regarding the event, and everything sort of tumbles out of the cabinet all at once. This falling out or flashback experience can feel almost as traumatic as the initial event.Flashbacks...[ read more ]
A Pew Research Center analysis of new hate crimes statistics from the FBI found the number of assaults against Muslims living in America rose significantly between the years of 2015 and 2016. These figures surpassed the level of hate crimes reported even after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And according to a report put out by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),...[ read more ]
Not many of us will get through life without facing our own share of challenges. But some people experience not just stress and strife, but actual trauma. Trauma may come in the form of a physically or emotionally abusive relationship, a physical accident such as a car accident, rape, the sudden loss of a loved one, or war.When a person...[ read more ]
Military families are uniquely affected by work and life stressors. Deployment, pre-deployment training and preparation, as well as reintegration can affect not only the service member, but their spouse and family.Service MembersWhile Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) receives a great deal of attention and discussion, transition stress is another affliction affecting veterans that's often overlooked. According to a 2018 study published...[ read more ]
Racial trauma, also sometimes referred to as race-based traumatic stress (RBTS), refers to mental and emotional stress that is a result of racial bias, discrimination, and hate crimes. Those individuals who experience these types of encounters can subsequently deal with negative repercussions.The Mental Health Impacts of Racial TraumaIndividuals who experience racial trauma not only deal with the initial event, but...[ read more ]
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, nearly 1 in 5 women will be raped at some point in their lives in the United States. In addition, an estimated 13% of women and 6% of men reported being a victim of sexual coercion, which means being pressured in a nonphysical way of experiencing unwanted sexual penetration.Keep in mind, these...[ read more ]
When tragedies like mass shootings occur, most of us struggle to make sense of it. How could something so terrible happen? What would cause another human being to do such a thing? And how can we move on with the knowledge that this latest mass shooting most likely won’t be the last?After a traumatic event, it is common to experience...[ read more ]
Pregnancy can be an emotionally overwhelming experience for just about anybody. But for women with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it can be downright scary. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information to be found about how PTSD can impact a pregnancy, leaving many moms-to-be with even more questions and concerns.The few studies that examined how PTSD affects pregnancy...[ read more ]