Trauma

I'm so sorry that you have been haunted by the past for so long. It must have been incredibly difficult to open up about something so dark and vulnerable. But by shedding light on it you have already taken the first step toward healing. Trauma can wreak havoc on relationships if it isn't healed... more

It may not feel like it, but you are in a great spot! You know what is holding you back! It sounds like you want to deal with your past and find healing, so you can move forward in freedom. Trauma is life-altering and at any age, especially when we are young. Meeting with a counselor who works... more

I'm going to second that it is completely brave of you to share something you kept hidden for over 30 years. That's a HUGE deal!Something awesome about the brain is that it can learn at any time in the human lifespan. No matter how long you have dealt with the affects of trauma, your brain has... more

You already are doing that! You are reaching out (virtually still counts!). You are accepting your past, you are not denying what happened to you, you are talking about the past. You are already doing a great job of starting this journey. You get your life back by doing things differently.I would... more

Hi there,I can sense the frustration in your post. PTSD can, and often does affect so many aspects of life. There are evidence based treatments for PTSD that can help with some of the side effects. You can learn to identify your triggers, ground yourself and regulate your emotions better for example... more

There's so many treatments for PTSD and trauma-related issues. Your path might look different than what someone else's path looks like, though most people benefit from learning emotional awareness and regulation, increasing tolerance for talking about traumatic situations, and a deep understanding... more

It depends on what you mean by problems however, a therapist who specializes in PTSD I can say it wouldn’t be uncommon to see an increase in PTSD symptoms or severity after something like a car accident. It is just adding trauma onto trauma. Sort of like kicking you when you are down, your body may... more

The fact that you are concerned shows that you absolutely have emotions about lacking emotions. Seems like you fear that you are becoming a sociopath, and that alone shows you have emotions.It is incredibly normal to feel "numb" after a trauma like rape. The emotional impact of rape can be beyond... more

One way to handle the situation is to develop willingness to tolerate her unusual habits. Would you be willing to talk with your kids that grandma is sensitive to smells and her way to address this is to tape up cracks and crevasses?As long as her behavior isn't aggressive, harmful to anyone... more

Death of someone with whom we had fond involvement, is sad. Accepting that a person is permanently gone from this earth, is unsettling and can feel painful.That you had no current contact with this person doesn't exclude the meaning or feelings from within your relationship with this person... more