Life experiences and/or events can of course be more unpredictable and traumatic; car accident, abuse (past/current), unexpected and/or premature loss. The solid ground you felt you were standing on suddenly becomes shifting sand un-steadying your feet and evoking a sense of losing control and direction. This can begin to impact adversely on your life leading to low mood, anxiety and feelings of despair and helplessness. Unhelpful behaviour patterns may emerge, temporarily helping the emotional pain to subside but which could be harmful in the longer term.
Trauma can sometimes impact our emotional wellbeing in a way that we’re not always immediately conscious of or attuned to, and can manifest itself in physical ways in our bodies, resulting in what are assumed to be unexplained aches and pains.
Having previously worked as a children and families social worker initially in child protection/safeguarding, then fostering and latterly adoption I became familiar with how early trauma can manifest itself in later life if therapeutic work/support is absent during these formative years.
Trauma is essentially a response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and their ability to feel the full range of emotions and experiences.
As a counsellor I work psychodynamically (embodied simply by ‘history in the present’) that is recognising that often what’s causing difficulties in the present can be sourced to a past event that has resulted in wounds that have not been processed, and therefore not had opportunity to heal. Connection with this can bring release, as it drives what is in the unconscious, to awareness so that it can be processed and better understood, promoting emotionally healthier choices for the individual to potentially enhance, grow and enrich their life.
I have experience of working with clients who have experienced trauma through giving birth, sexual & physical abuse/exploitation, survivors of trafficking and modern day slavery. It is common for clients to experience a number of emotional and physiological symptoms e.g. insomnia, headaches, loss of appetite, bodily pain, hypervigilance, dissociation etc. I have found that the process of recovery following trauma is a unique journey for each individual. It often begins with a period of stabilisation and grounding before depth work and therefore healing can begin.
