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HopeWell Psychological is open and accepting new clients. We are seeing people in a secure online format. Research shows that therapy done in these formats can be just as effective as in-person therapy. Give us a call today!

We are experts at helping people recover and heal from trauma and the associated symptoms! When a person is traumatized, they are usually experiencing physiological, emotional, and psychological extremes, typically moving from one disregulated state (hyperarousal, which is characterized by high levels of anxiety and hypervigilance) to another disregulated state (hypoarousal, which is characterized by high levels of shut down, zoning out, and avoidance). We can help you calm down your emotional brain and body in seconds, using our Biohacking Techniques.

Have you been experiencing any of the following?

  • anxiety / chronic worry / panic attacks
  • difficulty falling or staying asleep
  • nightmares or bad dreams
  • physicals symptoms (headaches, stomach aches, chest tightness, back pain, etc.)
  • increased interpersonal conflict / difficulty trusting others
  • avoiding family or friends / isolating
  • feeling frozen, helpless, or needing to escape
  • trouble with focus, concentration, and memory
  • low confidence / self doubt
  • feelings of unworthiness, not good enough (shame)
  • feelings of loss and sadness
  • losing interest in previously enjoyable activities
  • changes in eating habits
  • irritability / anger
  • low mood / depression
  • avoidance of situations that lead to distress or discomfort (usually associated with trauma reminders / triggers)
  • feeling unsafe even when it is currently safe
  • over-protectiveness of self, children, or others
  • stuck cognitions / looping thoughts
  • there are many other ways trauma can present

The above symptoms are rooted in the traumas that we experience or witness throughout our lives. Sometimes traumas are big and sometimes they are small. Sometimes traumatization occurs after a single event and sometimes it takes an accumulation of events to become traumatized. Typically, most people are not very conscious about how trauma impacts them on a day-to-day basis. This is because traumatic experiences shape our lives in subtle ways. When someone is traumatized, the person often views him/herself in a negative way, struggles to trust and connect with others, and ultimately feels less confident, decisive, and engaged in life. The good news is that these symptoms are not who you are, but they hold you back from fully living the life that you want to lead. Trauma can be healed so there’s no need to carry the weight and the burden of it anymore. It is possible to find your confidence again in your personal life, at work, and in your most important relationships.

You might be wondering what types of events can lead to traumatization. So, let us tell you what some of these events are:

  • work accidents
  • motor vehicle accidents
  • sexual / physical / emotional abuse / assaults
  • death or loss of a loved one or pet
  • significant losses (i.e. divorce, house fire, bullying, miscarriage, etc.)
  • exposure to war
  • medical trauma (e.g. surgery, serious or chronic illness)

Did you know that the more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) you have, the greater your risk is of developing various psychological and physical illnesses, as an adult? But how can this be?

In a large-scale research study of 8,000 people, researchers looked at various ACE’s and how they are related to adulthood health and disease outcome.[1] The ACE’s that the researchers asked about include:

  • Psychological abuse,
  • Physical abuse,
  • Sexual abuse,
  • Substance abuse by a household family member,
  • Mental illness of a household family member,
  • Spousal or partner violence, and
  • Criminal behavior resulting in the incarceration of a household member.

The researchers found a strong dose-dependent relationship between the number of the ACE’s that people had experienced and 10 behavioural risk factors associated with the leading causes of death in adults; including smoking, severe obesity, decreased physical activity, depressed mood, a suicide attempt, alcoholism, any drug use, injection drug use, greater than fifty lifetime sexual partners, and a history of a sexually transmitted disease. Dose-dependent simply means that the more ACE’s that a person is exposed to as a child, the higher his/her risk for the development of adulthood psychological and physical problems.

For instance, the researchers found that people who had experienced four or more ACE’s (compared to people who had experienced none), had 4-12 times increased risks for health behaviours such as alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and suicide attempts. These participants also had 2-4 times increased likelihood of the following: smoking, engaging in risky sexual behaviours, disengaging from physical activity, and suffering from severe obesity in adulthood.

Unfortunately, negative life events continue to occur throughout a lifetime – we experience separation and/or divorce, motor vehicle accidents, cancer, work-related stress or injuries, loss of a loved one, life transitions, miscarriages, becoming a new parent, bullying, etc. These “small t traumas” do in fact accumulate over a lifetime, and need to be addressed. Call HopeWell Psychological now so we can help you to heal both psychologically and physically.

References

[1].Felitti VJ. Anda RF. Nordenberg D. Williamson DF. Spitz AM. Edwards V. Koss MP. Marks JS. Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. Journal of Preventative Medicine 1998;14(4):245-258.

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