Often, when if have PTSD, you may be afraid to share with your partner more about yourself. And, with PTSD, it may very hard to trust the people closest to you. Some people with PTSD may also be very inappropriately open with people should not be open with. Commonly, with PTSD, you may experience panic attacks, anxiety, fear, and flooding of intense emotions. Now, with an abuse history, you may just day dream or stare off into space for no reason. So, this is disassociation occurring. Deep experiences are very important to share for building emotional vulnerability. But, PTSD and a sexual abuse history, sharing deep experience is challenging. PTSD therapy and relationship therapy is available at Wisdom Within Counseling.
PTSD therapy and relationship therapy in Southeastern Connecticut
Sexual abuse in childhood can cause triggers in your marriage
Now, when it comes to survivors of sexual abuse, it can be hard to take in positive compliments. Often, there is a deflection of that compliment, which can trigger PTSD from the past sexual abuse. Furthermore, expressing fondness and admiration to your partner which will draw you and your partner closer.
For victims of PTSD, feeling in danger with close intimacy is common.
So, it is common for people with PTSD to point out what is wrong with their partner and show criticism. Therefore, a person with PTSD tends to maintain their distance and keeps their spouse at bay. After having trauma experiences, a person has trouble feeling into their own body and emotions. So, this hinders relationship connection too.
So, at Wisdom Within Counseling, our team of therapists help couples who have histories of childhood sexual abuse.
Sometimes, a person with PTSD will be very controlling and tell their partner what to do. Now, for someone with PTSD, a feeling of feeing you of control can lead to abuse. Therefore, with a person that has PTSD and a history of sexual abuse, there may be panic attacks before or after sex. It makes creating shared meaning difficult when there is a history of sexual trauma.
Often, PTSD takes up so much energy. When you have PTSD, you may have anxiety attacks regularly.
In PTSD and trauma counseling, your therapist can provide hope. Part of PTSD therapy is learning and gaining education on being a survivor, not a victim. And, from counseling, you can start to dream about your bright future and the good things.
PTSD therapy and relationship therapy in Southeastern Connecticut is transgender, same sex, and LGBTQIA+ affirming
How are flashbacks and marriage counseling interwoven?
A PTSD flashback is a reaction to a trigger that reminds you of a trauma in the past. Each person with PTSD may react in a different way. One person with PTSD symptoms in a flashback may get mad, upset, and feel frustration. Other people stop speaking, become mute, and can’t talk for minutes or hours. Furthermore, some people with PTSD may see a trigger and immediately start crying and sobbing uncontrollably. With PTSD therapy, the severity of a PTSD reaction can decrease and become less intense.
Frequently, people with PTSD and trauma will lash out in anger in response to a trigger.
But, it does not make it excusable. This can be scary and frightening to a spouse, friends, and/or family. To add, PTSD creates symptoms of high and low emotions. Family therapy can help child and family members gain emotional support. Therefore, with PTSD symptoms and reactions fear, anxiety, and anger are mostly present on the surface. With PTSD, it is hard for someone to get the negative, painful memory out of their mind.
The memory keeps replaying over and over in a PTSD flashback. PTSD therapy and working with a specialist is so essential to trauma recovery.
For instance, say someone has PTSD from being an adolescent in WWII bombing overhead. They are now a grandparent and it is 40 years later. They are now having a great time on a walk. And, the sky is blue and the day is calm. A bird flies overhead casing a shadow on the ground that looks like a plane flying overhead and triggers the person.
How can PTSD flashbacks play a role in relationship challenges?
Now, the anger outbursts are usually not acceptable or appropriate in relation to the situation. Often, the symptoms of trauma may include obsessing about the event. Therefore, with a flashback, negative images play on repeat. At Wisdom Within Counseling, your marriage therapist teaches you skills for managing flooding and emotional memories. Often, triggers can lead to overwhelming anxiety and fear and even an anxiety attack. In counseling, your therapist can teach you coping tools to use when your PTSD is triggered.
What are was to reduce PTSD triggers and calm the emotional reaction?
Right now, you may have fears and want to protect yourself. At Wisdom Within Counseling, we offer you expressive arts like drama therapy, art therapies, yoga therapies, music, and ways to release emotions. Manytimes, trauma therapy doesn’t include these holistic, creative and expressive therapies. As trauma counseling experts, our team understand that trauma is held in the body and mind.
In trauma therapy, Wisdom Within Counseling’s team offers holistic body and mind therapies to release trauma responses and reactions.
Often, deep breathing is a form of grounding and anchoring yourself. So, you get to learn about self-compassion and positive affirmation in counseling too. Art therapies, yoga therapies, and walking therapies outdoors in the fresh air are healthy outlets for stress. You can pick from painting on a canvas or using clay to express difficult feelings. Plus, trauma therapy is all about promoting a feeling of safety and security.
Wisdom Within Counseling’s team specializes with PTSD counseling, sexual trauma recovery and holistic PTSD therapy.
How Wisdom Within Counseling steps outside the box offering holistic counseling?
– Gender, Sexual Orientation, LGBTQIA+ and Sexuality with Couples
– Self-Worth, Self-Esteem, and Clear Decision Making
– Helping Couples Let Go of Negative Protective Mechanisms
– Positive Communication Skills For Anxiety
– Outdoor Walking Therapy and Yoga Therapy For Holistic, Positive Emotional Coping Tools
Let our marriage and family therapists who specialize in complex PTSD help you sort through anxiety, past memories, gain positive direction, and discover your confident, calm, creative side. In therapy, you can sort through overwhelming, difficult emotions, and start to feel balanced and peaceful in your family, personal, and work life once again. Also, as holistic marriage and family therapists, the team helps anxious children, depressed young adults, and distant couples thrive.
Out-of-the-box, creative art, yoga, music, and outdoor walk-and-talk sessions by the beach
-Overcome panic attacks and learn positive coping skills for better self-esteem
-Gain confidence and clarity after childhood abuse and trauma experiences
-Specialized help for adolescents, depressed teenagers, adults, and distant couples with PTSD
