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9 Signs You Need Trauma Therapy

Signs You Need Trauma Therapy

No matter how it occurred or what led to it, trauma is bad for your mental as well as physical well-being. Identifying the signs of trauma and how it is impacting your life is essential not just for your wellness but for your loved ones too, and is the first step to healing. If stressful, unpleasant, and scary situations are overwhelming you and you feel incapable of coping with your feelings, call the West Palm Beach Trauma Therapy Center to break away from trauma and get life satisfaction. Liz Chelak offers various therapies to help you develop the necessary coping strategies, find inner peace, and create a better future for yourself.

Begin personalized therapy, online or in-person, in West Palm Beach, and Boca Raton, FL.

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Many of us experience trauma at some point in our lives. For some people, it can be a horrifying and even life-threatening event that may result from the loss of a loved one to divorce and financial setbacks. Trauma can affect normal functioning by impacting your physical and emotional health.
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma is essential for getting the right treatment and ensuring timely healing. As trauma can impact your mood, relationships, and even overall well-being, seeking the most appropriate care and support can prevent further complications.

Read on to learn what signs and symptoms indicate you need therapy and how you can take practical steps to heal and be a part of a community that recognizes human complexities and focuses on growth.

Signs You Need Trauma Therapy

Identifying the signs of trauma is the most crucial step for getting trauma therapy.

Here are some of the most common signs of trauma that indicate you need expert care:

1.Persistent Feelings of Anxiety or Depression

People who experience trauma are vulnerable to anxiety and depression due to the extreme stress or horror they have been through and the way it affects them. These feelings of anxiety and depression can make you feel sad, low, and unable to move on with your life.

If you continue to experience feelings of depression and anxiety and they begin to impact your routine life and activities even months or years after the trauma, therapy is a must..

2.Flashbacks and Nightmares

Unresolved traumas can cause flashbacks and nightmares. Even though our bodies rest at night, our brain sifts through the day’s events, and at some time, it might touch upon memories or triggers linked to past traumas.

These nightmares or flashbacks can take you back to the traumatic event and stop you from finding inner peace or healing. If they start affecting your sleeping patterns, you may need professional help.

3.Avoidance Behavior

One of the most common reasons people experience trauma is when someone they trusted or someone who was supposed to keep them safe violated that trust. After this, your brain starts to question everything, especially your ability to judge other people, and it results in avoidance behavior.

You may end up avoiding places, people, or activities that remind you of the traumatic experience, and it can keep you from developing healthy relationships or feeling safe. This is a serious problem that only therapy can address.

4.Difficulty in Relationships

Trauma can make it difficult to form and maintain healthy relationships with family, friends, and even people at work. You don’t want to open up and establish cordial relationships or accept love from another person and find it hard to develop positive ties with others. However, if you are struggling with trust or intimacy to the degree that you cannot maintain a relationship, it may need therapeutic intervention.

5.Physical Symptoms

Trauma’s effects extend beyond cognitive and behavioral issues. It can impact your physical and psychological health and lead to disorders such as sexual dysfunction, insomnia, fatigue, and headaches. It can also result in fear, depression, and difficulty forming emotional connections.

Physician signs of trauma vary from person to person, depending on the type of trauma and intensity of nature they experience, but most people complain of headaches and digestive issues. The good thing is these issues can be resolved with therapy.

6.Emotional Numbness

Many people may consider emotional numbness or detachment as comping mechanism but it is not a healthy reaction and needs treatment. If your eating and sleeping habits are changing, you start sleeping more than before, you keep a chair in front of the fridge and start eating, or begin to roam the halls at night, something is not right with your emotions. These habits may negatively impact your well-being, and you need prompt help.

7.Substance Abuse or Other Addictions

Children and adolescents who experience trauma are more likely to develop substance abuse later in life. It is because trauma can alter brain development and make it harder to manage stress in healthy ways. This can lead to a vicious cycle. Trauma triggers difficult emotions and they may seek relief through substances. Turning to substance abuse or other addictions to cope with trauma requires specialized help.

8.self-Harm or Suicidal Thoughts

Self-harm includes self-abuse, cutting, and other behaviors, which can also lead to suicidal attempts if such behaviors are not controlled timely. Certain types of trauma, especially experiences in which you have been hurt by another person, may be linked to a higher risk of suicide attempts. Self-harm and suicidal thoughts are serious signs that need immediate professional intervention.

9.others Begin to Notice Changes in Your Behavior

Occasional change in mood, behavior, or emotions is normal but if you suffer extreme mood swings that get noticed by others, it indicates a problem that needs to be addressed. Sometimes, other people, especially loved ones, begin to notice changes you may not be aware of. They may not come right out and say it, but they are worried about you. You may notice that they are pulling away or smothering you, which means they are worried.

Trauma can leave emotional scars on your mind and soul that can be cured with the right guidance and care. Just like physical wounds need care, trauma also needs time, compassionate support, and professional help to heal well. Contrary to popular belief, trauma is not a sign of weakness or failure.  It is just a natural reaction to someone extraordinary or unusual that you went through, and realizing this is the first step towards healing.

Timely treatment and professional help can reduce symptoms of trauma and also ease its long-term effects, leading to overall better outcomes. Awareness of trauma is not just a personal matter. The best way to help people with trauma is with compassion, empathy, and understanding.

Importance of Trauma Therapy

Treating trauma is not so easy and requires time as well as patience due to the complexity surrounding it. Therapy provides a structured and compassionate platform where people affected by trauma can express themselves and begin their healing process.  However, proper diagnosis is essential for getting the right treatment and ensures long-term healing.

Therapy helps to explore the root of trauma, which enables you to identify how it has affected you and find the solution to your distress. Therapists offer emotional support and validation and empower you to heal from emotional injuries and disturbing events.

Therapy teaches you that trauma is not a failure but a human response to overwhelming situations so you can develop a more practical approach towards your situation. The best thing about therapy is that it can be tailored to suit your unique needs and experiences. It provides you a safe and supporting environment where you can express yourself without any fear, build resilience and learn coping mechanism to move forward in life.

For more information about our counselors or to schedule an appointment for your therapy, call our office by number:

(561) 363-7994

How to Get the Best Help?

The only way to treat symptoms of trauma is to seek professional help. A mental health professional can make an accurate diagnosis of your condition and recommend the best treatment. It is essential to know that not all therapists specialize in trauma. Thus, you should finding a therapist with training and experience in this area to get the best support.

The therapist will work with you to determine the type of therapy that would be most appropriate for addressing your needs in the most comforting way. If you are having a hard time finding a therapist, you can also ask friends, family, or healthcare providers about it, and they may recommend a trusted name. You can also look online and find reliable information about therapists specializing in trauma.

Healing from trauma is a complex journey. Recognizing your worth and seeking guidance is the first brave step on the path to recovery. Asking for help is a sign that you are ready to move forward and seek a better, healthier tomorrow. Liz Chelak provides the compassionate support that trauma therapy offers. She has been working with trauma patients for years and knows what therapies and techniques can help to get rid of unpleasant, unwanted thoughts and help you find inner peace and heal.

Page Modified on Feb 7, 2025 by Liz Chelak (Trauma Therapist)