When you’ve experienced a traumatic event, you have a lot of emotions and responses to process. Healing will take time as you explore the underlying issues and learn how to manage the symptoms. Overcoming trauma in long-term treatment is the best option for processing your pain in a safe, supportive environment.
Traumatic Experiences
Trauma can result from a single incident or from an extended experience. When something in your life causes a significant amount of stress and you have an adverse reaction because of that stress, it can be traumatic. For example, if you were in an accident, the victim of a violent act, or in battle as a member of the military, you might experience the symptoms of trauma. You may have witnessed these incidents happening to someone else. You might have experienced extended trauma, such as from abuse or neglect. Any of these could cause trauma in your life.
Nearly everyone has gone through some sort of trauma in their life. If you have been struggling with healing from your experiences, long-term treatment may be necessary. A traumatic event can be marked by a sense of helpless or horror. A physical injury may have been involved, which will take time to heal as well.
Types of Trauma
The different types of trauma include:
- Acute trauma – resulting from a single dangerous or stressful event.
- Chronic trauma – resulting from repeated and prolonged exposure to events that are highly stressful. Child abuse, bullying, and domestic violence are examples of chronic trauma.
- Complex trauma – resulting from exposure to multiple traumatic events.
- Secondary trauma – resulting from being in close contact with someone who has experienced a traumatic event. Family members and those who care for the individual are at risk for experiencing secondary trauma.
Psychological and Physical Symptoms of Trauma
Responses to a trauma can last for weeks or months. If the issues continue for an extended period of time, you might be suffering from a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Often associated with military experiences, PTSD can occur in anyone who has been through an incident or an experience that has created serious emotional and physical distress.
Your response to trauma will vary from other people’s but some common emotional and psychological symptoms can include:
- denial
- anger
- confusion
- numbness
- fear
- sadness
- shame
- anxiety
- depression
- guilt
- irritability
- difficulty concentrating
- hopelessness
You may find that you have emotional outbursts, or you may withdraw from others. You can also find it difficult to cope with your symptoms without help. If you are suffering from PTSD, you might also experience flashbacks, as you relive the event in your mind. Overcoming this type of trauma can best be achieved in long-term treatment to help you process the event and manage the challenging symptoms.
Physical symptoms can include headaches and digestive issues, fatigue, excessive sweating, feeling jumpy, dizziness, a change in appetite and a racing heart. You might also experience a sense of hyperarousal in which you are in a constant state of alertness. This can also make it more difficult for you to sleep well.
Immersive, Long-Term Treatment
When you have experienced a trauma and are trying to deal with these symptoms in your life, you may develop mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. If you turn to drugs or alcohol in an attempt to cope, you may also be at risk of developing a substance abuse problem.
Feeling overwhelmed and helpless can cause you to struggle with processing your experience. An immersive, long-term treatment program can help you recognize the long-term effects of the trauma on your life, physically, psychologically and emotionally.
While therapy sessions can help address certain issues of your mental health and potential substance abuse issues, exploring the more painful areas of your past requires a safe, supportive and sustained environment of clinical care. You may have been trying to deal with your trauma symptoms for a very long time. They will not be healed overnight. An immersive experience can guide through the process of addressing the trauma and the symptoms in a healthier way, physically and mentally.
Find a Strong 12-Step Program at Still Waters
At Still Waters, we base our recovery program on 12-step principles. We offer an immersion program that is designed for you when you have not had success with other treatment programs, if you have relapsed after a period of sobriety or if you want to dig deeper into the work involved in the steps. Our program is staffed entirely by recovering alcoholics and addicts who are ready to share their experience, their strength and their hope with you. Contact us today to get the help you need in recovery from your addiction.
