EMDR was built to help people process traumatic memories, but has been found effective with this type of layered, ongoing distress as well. Through guided eye movements, EMDR helps your brain process anything that’s gotten stuck in your system, so it stops feeling so triggering and immediate.
Attachment wounds live in memories, but also throughout the body in the muscles or in breath. Somatic therapy taps into the bodily experiences that the conscious mind has either tried to minimize or moved past without processing.
They’re holding the space steady while you’re doing the internal work of reprocessing a traumatic experience within your mind and body.
When you find yourself in an anxiety loop, redirect your attention somewhere else entirely. Finding a distraction will help create a shift in thinking, enough to interrupt the anxiety long enough for your nervous system to calm down.
Understanding your attachment style is often the first step. Knowing whether you lean toward anxious, avoidant, or disorganized attachment can help make sense of your patterns. This acknowledgment can shift your internal conversation from “what’s wrong with me?” to “this is what I learned.”
Most people view ADHD and PTSD as two separate issues with completely different symptoms. One is a neurodevelopmental condition, while the other is a response to overwhelming, traumatic experiences. Dealing with ADHD and PTSD concurrently isn’t rare. Trauma exposure is more common among people with ADHD.
Research has consistently suggested that ADHD and bipolar disorder co-occur at significant rates. As many as 20% to 30% of people with bipolar disorder also develop ADHD. Adults with ADHD are also more likely to develop bipolar disorder than the average person.
Negative beliefs that underlie depression are often tied to past experiences. EMDR targets the root of depression through these memories rather than simply addressing any symptoms you’re experiencing.
Adaptive coping strategies are responses that work with your nervous system to help regulate it and provide genuine relief. These are more practical and evidence-informed meant to build resilience and a healthier relationship with hard feelings.
If you are about to start your EMDR journey, or have been struggling through your first couple of sessions, you may be wondering what you’re supposed to be thinking about. The beauty of EMDR is that there is no right or wrong thing to experience during your sessions. Forcing anything wouldn’t be productive. Your nervous system sets a pace that is comfortable and sustainable.
EMDR incorporates side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or auditory stimuli to activate both sides of your brain, mimicking REM sleep. After trauma, your brain holds onto a distressing memory. Bilateral stimulation supports your brain in doing what it could not do during the trauma. Once you can process it and place it in the right context, the emotional charge it has been carrying will dissipate.
Somatic therapy recognizes that you can’t fix trauma that’s stored in the body through mental work. Rather than focusing solely on the narrative, somatic approaches help you learn how to shift the physical sensations connected to those traumatic experiences.
Somatic therapy helps you regulate by allowing your body to complete the initial protective response that it started, but never finished. Your body likely triggered a fight-or-flight response. But, unable to take the steps needed to carry the process to its end, all that energy remained trapped inside. You’ll be given a safe space to release stored energy and teach your nervous system new responses that are more helpful to you.
Several factors shape how long your trauma therapy journey will last. There is no set timeline and no race to the finish. Some people notice meaningful changes within a few months, while others benefit from a year or more of consistent work. Neither route is right nor wrong.
Complex relational trauma consists of ongoing patterns of hurt within our closest relationships. Not only can this shape how we view ourselves, but it can also affect how we connect with others well into the future.
Generalized anxiety disorder can interfere with your concentration and decision-making abilities. When anxiety triggers your nervous system and sends you into fight-or-flight mode, it limits your ability to think clearly. You may also notice, unusual forgetfulness, mental exhaustion, even when you have no reason to be tired, struggling to make simple decisions and difficulty completing routine tasks.
Dissociative PTSD includes the typical PTSD symptoms like hypervigilance and intrusive thoughts, but it also involves elements of depersonalization and derealization. They’re basically fancy terms for feeling disconnected from your world.
Explaining ADHD can be a frustrating task, but with the right approach, you can help the people in your life understand what you’re experiencing. Having successful discussions will help them provide you with support that makes a difference.
Past life regression takes you on a journey to recall and explore experiences that may have occurred in one of your previous lives. Using hypnosis, you’ll be guided into a relaxed, meditative state where your mind is more open and accessible.
For the EMDR process to be effective, you must open yourself up to the idea of being vulnerable. After your initial session, you may feel emotionally raw or even physically drained. It’s also normal to feel a bit foggy afterwards.
Exposure therapy does, in fact, work for treating anxiety disorders. Research has consistently shown positive results with exposure therapy when applied to: anxiety disorders, OCD, panic disorders, phobias, PTSD. For those who suffer from social anxiety specifically, gradual exposure is a highly effective way to reduce symptoms.
Past life regression therapy is an approach that can help unlock deeply ingrained patterns of unresolved trauma. This approach uses guided hypnosis to access memories or past experiences that may be influencing the present moment. Whether you believe these memories are actual past lives or a subconscious representation, it doesn’t change the healing process.
This source of healing is right outside your door. That would be nature. Nature is available all around you and can offer more than just some nice scenery. It can be an escape – a sanctuary – for your mind, body, and soul. Nature can help you heal from trauma by offering mindfulness, regulate the nervous system, reduce stress and bring connection and belonging.
Women with ADHD generally struggle with the inattentive characteristics over the hyperactive ones. This means they often display fewer behavioral issues. Instead, you may see zoning out during conversations or meetings, difficulty with task completion – especially ones that are of little interest, chronic disorganization and a knack for procrastination.
As you get through the first few weeks, you’ll likely hit the point where some of the deeper work starts to happen. Over the next few months, you’ll likely experience more intense emotions and physical sensations as you process old patterns. You should begin to notice how your trauma manifests in your daily life. Through consistent sessions, you will learn new coping strategies and, as you implement them on your end, outside therapy sessions, you will feel additional progress.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that is more complex than it seems and can stem from multiple interacting factors. The relationship between them influences how your brain functions. By gaining an understanding of what the causes of ADHD may be, you can learn how to manage your symptoms better and appreciate the silver linings that come with it.
Gen Z is the first generation to be fully on the other side of the technology burst. They have been constantly connected, resulting in a feeling of being overwhelmed This type of childhood environment has led to a rise in anxiety. Gen Z faces it from many different avenues, and because of this connectivity, has a difficult time escaping it.
The current way our news is broadcast to us isn’t always friendly to those with PTSD. Once your PTSD symptoms become triggered, they can have a varying effect. The immediate stress response can lead to panic attacks, anxiety, physiological symptoms, and sleep troubles. Long-term, it can fuel additional depression disorders, substance use, and social withdrawal.
Once PTSD develops, the progression of symptoms and longevity depend on multiple factors. Understanding PTSD and the interconnected nature of underlying factors can help you on your journey to finding support and healing.
Of the mental health conditions that have been studied for effectiveness with ketamine assisted psychotherapy, anxiety has seen promising results. This type of therapy is truly renewing how anxiety is treated and managed. With the use of ketamine, you’re able to alter brain chemistry favorably, leading to faster results.
