Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Do I have it? Is there a name for my experience? I always feel on edge, like I have to watch everything and everyone around me. I can't relax and let my guard down, what might happen then?
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Sleep? What's that. I can't fall asleep and if I do, it's only for a few hours before a nightmare claims me or I wake up terrified in my own home.
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Sometimes all it takes is seeing someone who looks like them and my heart is racing, palms are sweaty, the urge to run is overwhelming.
A smell, a sound, even a place can bring the feelings rushing back and there's nothing I can do to stop it. So my world has gotten smaller, I avoid those places and people, smells and sounds, hoping it will make it all stop.
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Symptoms like these are experienced by individuals affected by trauma all over the world, and can feel so overwhelming at times you might lose hope of ever making them stop. This is where Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) really shines.
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Through the use of Bilateral Stimulation such as the light bar pictured above, we stimulate two areas of the brain that hold both the memory itself in a maladaptive form and the emotion which can feel as though it's happening right now. I will be right by your side as we open up this distressing memory and slowly teach your mind that not only are you safe now, but you have the tools to stay that way through replacement of beliefs you may have held for years.
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Commonly held beliefs created by trauma are "I'm not enough" or "I'm a bad person" which can feel not just heavy but create self sabotage and avoidance of even the happiest moments. Let me help you find the memory that created this belief and make the changes you need to become the person you've always known you could be.
Many individuals using EMDR find themselves ready to graduate from therapy or move to an as needed schedule after 12-18 months depending on onset and severity.