What are signs of PTSD and a need to seek out PTSD therapy in couples therapy in Connecticut?
In general, symptoms of PTSD and trauma include, lack of emotional regulation, flooding, getting emotionally triggered, tearfulness, anxiety, panic attacks, negative flashbacks, and trouble sleeping. Also, disassociation is a part of trauma. As well, these trauma symptoms and emotions are often connected to sexual abuse history. Often, sexual trauma or experience sexual abuse are the roots of trauma symptoms and intense emotional reactions. As well, a symptom of trauma is feeling like you are out of your body.
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How does trauma and PTSD present itself?
People with have a history of trauma and abuse tend to move quickly, stay overly busy, become a work-a-holic, and rush around, and live on the edge of constantly pressing the panic button. Essentially, trauma and PTSD symptoms launch us into ruminating, obsessive thoughts, worrying, numbing out, and spacing out. Often, couples feed off each other. So, when one person has a PTSD or trauma flashback, the other person may develop anxiety or become reactive in response. So, your couples therapist can help couples understand the effects of trauma on one or both people.
Trauma flashbacks are a symptom of PTSD
When you notice a PTSD flashback, allow yourself to grieve the loss. Maybe, it is a loss of sexuality or a loss of childhood. As well, it could be a loss of hopes and dreams. Now, PTSD flashbacks can bring anger, betrayal, sadness, loss, grief, emotional distance, tears, and memories of the past. Furthermore, PTSD flashbacks are opportunities to release old, unresolved fears and emotional pain. Allow yourself to use coping tools to release unexpressed feelings of fear, hurt, and abandonment. As well, couples therapy in Connecticut for PTSD helps a partner to understand and emotionally validate the flashback experience.
Within PTSD therapy in couples therapy in Connecticut, a therapist boots a person’s self-confidence.
In order to avoid punishment or abuse, a person with trauma, finds it easier to accept influence and go along with what the other person wants. So, years after the abuse is over, a person will continue being passive. Often, after years of abuse, a person with PTSD finds it easier to become a doormat. Essentially, a person with PTSD and trauma lives in fear, even when no danger may be present. This person tends to be passive and submissive in all of their relationships. So, in PTSD therapy in couples therapy, self-confidence and mental clarity come. On the other hand, with trauma responses, a person may show the opposite.
What is another presentation of how PTSD and trauma can look?
As well, someone with PTSD or trauma may be very controlling rather than passive. A person may not be a doormat, but instead be very controlling or highly anxious. So, for someone with PTSD, it may be hard and challenging to accept influence. This is because they feel safer being in control. And, a person with PTSD always has a desire to be in control. Sometimes, in PTSD therapy in couples therapy role play and drama therapies are available to help couples accept influence.
How do counselors help with protective mechanisms in PTSD therapy in couples therapy?
Often, a person with PTSD has a pattern of moving away from vulnerability. So, criticism and defensivness often feels safer. So, marriage counseling is about helping a person with trauma or PTSD to feel safe opening up again. Furthermore, PTSD therapy in couples therapy provides a safe place to discuss needs. When a person lives in survival mode, it is difficult to turn towards a romantic partner. So, PTSD therapy in couples therapy helps a person set up of survival mindset and into a playful, safe mindset. For a person with PTSD, connection with the right fit therapist is a essential in supporting partners in rebuilding trust.
What are recommendations for helping a PTSD flashback?
As a note, we love Pete Walker LMFT’s recommendations for when you or your spouse have a PTSD flashback. Below, these are from Pete Walker. First, when you have a PTSD flashback, you may feel helpless and powerless. So, to combat the victim mentality, focus on your self-worth and the present moment. So, say to yourself: “I am having a flashback”. Flashbacks take us into a part of the psyche that feels as helpless, hopeless and surrounded by danger as we were in childhood. At Wisdom Within Counseling, PTSD therapy in couples therapy in Connecticut are our specialities.
How to speak to your inner child when soothing your PTSD flashback in PTSD therapy in couples therapy?
To add, say to yourself, that the feelings and sensations you are experiencing are past memories that cannot hurt you now.” So, reminding yourself what is happening is healthy. Plus, when your mind goes back to the past negativity, share this with your spouse. To add, share when you are having a PTSD flashback, talk to your romantic partner about your emotions. This way, they are aware of what is coming up for you emotionally. Couples therapy can help a partner learn how to support their partner who is having a trauma flashback. Often, a trusting alliance is essential in PTSD therapy in couples therapy.
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As well, in PTSD therapy in couples therapy, you can learn skills to ground yourself.
Essentially, therapy can be a comfortable place to feel safer in the world again. Plus, your spouse can help remind you that you are far from the danger of the past. In PTSD therapy in couples therapy, the therapist provides positive coping tools. So, right in session, you can learn a mindfulness meditation to self-soothe. At Wisdom Within Counseling, we teach positive coping tools. And, in PTSD therapy in couples therapy, we find this important as a mind-body grounding skill for healing from PTSD flashbacks.
In PTSD therapy in couples therapy, inner child work provides hope.
Additionally, in PTSD therapy in couples therapy, your therapist can help you speak reassuringly to your inner child. Loving all parts of yourself is essential in trauma recovery. And, loving and accepting yourself is the first step to having a healthy marriage. Now, an inner child is a part of yourself who needs love. Often, at one point in your childhood, you didn’t get your needs met. So, your inner child needs to know that you love that part of your younger self unconditionally. Lastly, don’t beat yourself up for having a trauma flashback or panic attack.
What to say to talk positively to yourself during a PTSD flashback?
As well, a positive self-talk conversation with your inner child takes place to ease a PTSD flashback. After trauma, we tend to exile part of ourself. Sometimes, people blame and shame themselves for their trauma or PTSD. So, learning to love and nurture your inner child, lets your inner self know that they can come to you for comfort. So, next time when you feel lost and scared, you can soothe and nurture all parts of yourself. At Wisdom Within Counseling, you can learn to overcome PTSD and trauma through building self-worth, calming skills, and a nurturing, trusting marriage.
How can muscle relaxation offer self-regulation skills in PTSD therapy in marriage counseling in Connecticut?
For instance, in your marriage counseling session, your therapist may invite you to do a progressive muscle relaxation. As well, for people with PTSD, mind-body therapies are most effective for recovery. Therefore, a mixture of yoga therapies, meditation, drama therapies, and art therapies are available. At Wisdom Within Counseling, you therapist may guide you as you gently ask your body to slow down. Plus, a progressive muscle relaxation helps you feel inward into each of your major muscle groups. So, your therapist may name your legs, and you bring your mind to your legs in the meditation.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for holistic, creative PTSD therapy for self-worth.
What are the benefits of yoga therapy, muscle relaxation, and meditation for PTSD recovery?
So, by practicing self-soothing in counseling, a person with PTSD can gain tools for inner peace and mental relaxation to use outside of therapy. To note, with PTSD and trauma, someone lives in fear and tension. So, it is common for someone with PTSD and trauma to not be sure how to get more relaxed. Essentially, this is a conscious form of muscle relaxation to promote healthy self-control. So, by relaxing tightened muscles, it reduces unnecessary danger signals to the brain that tight muscles would typically send. At Wisdom Within Counseling, PTSD therapy in couples therapy in Connecticut supports mind-body tools and holistic healing.
After a PTSD experience, people start holding their breath more often.
As well, in holistic PTSD therapy in couples therapy in Connecticut, you can learn to breathe deeply. People who have a history of trauma tend to live in fear. And, when you live in fear, people tend to breathe very shallow. So, they are too close to a panic attack, hyper ventilating way of breathing. And, shallow breathing signals fear and danger to your brain. So, one of the main steps to healing from PTSD and trauma is to learn to breathe slowly, deeply, and intentionally. Notably, holding your breathing signals danger to your brain. When you are holding your breath, you brain will feel stress, chaos, and anxiety. For victims of PTSD, counseling becomes a place to practice breathing deeply. Each therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling has their own way of teaching inner peace and self-care tools. Breathing deeply is an important lifelong coping tool for building self-confidence, reducing PTSD flooding, and staying calm when triggered.
As well, PTSD therapy in couples therapy helps you identify coping tools and collaborate with your spouse in the process.
Frequently, couples where one or both people have PTSD have struggles with anxiety, panic, and escalate. So, when a person is having a PTSD flashback, instead of being compassionate or encouraging a slow down process, they react back. For instance, a person in a relationship may be unable to verbalize they are having a PTSD flashback. So, it takes the support of a professional therapist to help the spouse who doesn’t have PTSD offer support.
Essentially, in PTSD therapy in couples therapy, the team at Wisdom Within Counseling support soothing and calming.
As well, your marriage therapists office can be your safe place to unwind and soothe yourself. Then, you can talk about what positive coping tools work for you at home and at work. In a PTSD flashback, you may choose to wrap yourself in a blanket, hold a stuffed animal, read a book, dance to music, lie down in a closet or a bath, or take a nap. On the other hand, when couples with PTSD have negative, harmful coping tools, fear never gets released in healthy ways. So, couples with dysfunctional coping tools run from emotions and react self-destructively to it.
Holistic PTSD therapy in couples therapy in Connecticut helps partners learn to identify the various triggers that lead to flashbacks.
At first, a person with PTSD or trauma may choose to avoid people, places, and activities that trigger them. In severe cases, a person with PTSD may not leave their house out of fear. Or, drive an extra three hours home from work to avoid triggers. So, part of healing from PTSD and trauma is overcoming triggering mental processes with positive coping tools. Therefore, positive coping tools can help couples learn to team up against the PTSD memories. From PTSD therapy in couples therapy in Connecticut, a therapist guides in holistic skills to work through triggering situations that are unavoidable.
