Holistic therapies can help relieve symptoms of complex trauma or complex and PTSD. Couples often get stuck in a cycle of fighting, distance, and withhold affection when stuck in fight, slight, or freeze. Right now, it may feel like you partner is doing the exact opposite of what you are wanting or needing. Deep down, there may be unmet childhood needs or a history of abusive relationships that have left a lasting scar. Trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut is a speciality at Wisdom Within Counseling.
What are life events that can cause trauma, loss, PTSD, and complex PTSD?
Physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and neglect can lead to symptoms of PTSD and a need to see a PTSD specialist. Also, teen pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or still birth can lead to PTSD. If a loved one, sibling, parent, or friend has died, that can trigger problems sleeping, eating, and functioning. Growing up in a violent home where you saw you parents fighting can trigger PTSD. Also, if a parent or caregiver had an alcohol or drug problem, that can trigger PTSD. Of course, experiencing the pandemic and COVID-19 can lead to troubles with anxiety, fear, depression, and low motivation. Also, if you had a loved one in the military who was always departing and arriving, this can lead to PTSD. Even financial loss can lead to PTSD.
To begin, click the button below to book a phone consult for complex PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut.
The first step in improving your relationship romantically is understanding the trauma cycle.
Wisdom Within Counseling teaches children, teens, and adults grounding techniques that can help you calm down in a panic attack. Develop emotional confidence over anxiety can help you bring your best self to your romantic relationship. You can use these skills when you feel centered to gain one percent more inner peace to build the best marriage possible. If you or your spouse are triggered, angry, and using the silent treatment, these are negative communication tactics that predict separation and divorce. So, if you want to stay together, working with a PTSD and trauma therapist for couples in Waterford, Connecticut can help you build healthy communication and feel loved.
What happens for couples when they both re-trigger each other’s trauma wounds and unmet childhood needs?
If both people grew up with childhood trauma, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or threats of physical harm, this is childhood trauma. In romantic relationships, childhood trauma can get re-triggered by current moment arguments. A fight, a noise, or a smell can cause memories of sexual abuse, physical abuse, rape, other sexual assault to resurface. These trauma and PTSD memories can feel intrusive, negative, cause anxiety and be obsessive. Trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut involves mind-body therapies and a holistic approach. Couples can learn to relax the parasympathetic nervous system together through meditation, breathing, and art therapies.
In your past, you have PTSD memories that flood your brain with fear, anxiety, and sadness.
These memories remind you of an ex-partner who demonstrated abusive behavior. If you were in a past romantic relationship, where domestic violence was occurring, you may have PTSD symptoms now. The trauma from a past abusive relationship may leave you feeling anxiety in your current relationship. Being with a narcissist and abusive person can include experiences of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. These traumatic experiences leave long-lasting psychological and physical effects such as anxiety, anger, and behaviors like the silent treatment.
To begin, click the button below to book a phone consult for complex PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut.
Negative cycle of fighting repeats itself when trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut would be beneficial
Right when you want you partner to listen, they walk away. You may have never had a voice and never felt heard in childhood by your parents and caregivers. So, it really matters that your partner hears you. When they lack those communication skills, an argument begins to escalate. And, right when you spouse wants you to hug them, you feel so frustrated and annoyed, you have to take space to calm down. Trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut helps couples cope with anger, loss, jealousy, and fear. Couples counseling can help couples develop better communication and emotional coping tools. You can work with a couples therapist in Waterford, Connecticut to deepen your emotional connection. As well, from better communication, you can improve your sex life and physical intimacy. Let’s work together to help you and your spouse rebuild trust.
Where does this deep emotional need come from in your spouse?
A deep desire to be hugged make come from not being hugged enough as a child or feeling rejected by caregivers in childhood. Maybe, being hugged is so soothing and they feel loved when they are hugged. Touch could be their love language. In counseling, you can better understand the root of emotional issues and fights. If rights are reoccurring, this is a sign you are stuck in a trauma bond or trauma cycle.
Working together in PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut help couples speak in kind, clear ways.
Yelling an arguing do not solve problems. So, if you feel your spouse is distant, critical, or abusive, trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut can provide healthier communication skills. You and your spouse can start breaking negative generational patterns of negativity. By learning about trauma, you can see working on self-love and self-acceptance coping tools as positive. Trauma memories and unmet childhood needs are the root of anxiety, fear, and anger. To add, complex PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut can be helpful to stop the cycle of abuse.
Your memories of emotional abuse in a past romantic relationship or childhood leaves you with complex PTSD symptoms that impact your marriage.
The team of marriage and family therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling in Waterford, Connecticut specialize in complex PTSD therapies. Childhood trauma and neglect gets re-triggered by current fighting. Yelling or arguing in your current relationship can lead to fears and anxiety of more physical or emotional abuse occurring.
Why do I need complex trauma coping strategies and positive skills for grounding after a traumatic PTSD event?
When you have complex PTSD, you might have past painful memories that get re-triggered by certain events in your current day. So, if you have a history of sexual, physical, emotional or verbal abuse in your past, certain things can re-trigger you. Someone raising their voice might remind you of being yelled at as a child. When you partner get angry with you, you may feel the same emotion as when your parent yelled at you and didn’t care how you felt. Or, someone touching your body can remind you of when unwanted touch occurred. Sexual abuse can cause other times of unwanted touch to resurface.
To begin, click the button below to book a phone consult for complex PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut.
Symptoms of complex PTSD and needing holistic trauma counseling in Waterford, Connecticut
When you go through a post-traumatic stress disorder flashback, you might experience anxiety. As well, it is common to be hyper vigilant. Often, you might feel like you’re on pins and needles or walking on eggshells. You may feel self-doubt or insecure in your choices. Additionally, you might feel low in mood, might have mood swings, and feel depressed. With PTSD and complex trauma, you may feel tired and have changes in appetite, or your sleep. Your whole mind and body is impacted from these traumatic, painful memories that are resurfacing. You may feel burdened by regret, shame, guilt, and anger.
What can you do in this moment?
To ground yourself, you can do an activity to bring your mind in connection to your body. Calming yourself can help you think more clearly rather than feeling overwhelmed by racing thoughts. In a fight, you might feel frustrated by your spouse. Mind-body therapies at Wisdom Within Counseling in Waterford, Connecticut being you mind back into the present moment. You might not be able to entirely push the negative, intrusive memories away, but at least, you can get to a place where you’re feeling more centered. Remember, you can us your breathing and meditation to feel calm, creative, curious. Therapy in Waterford, Connecticut supports children, teens, and adults in developing confidence. Form therapy, you can believe in yourself and know you can overcome anything that you’re facing.
With trauma, it feels like trauma memory has power over you.
Therefore, grounding techniques allow you to take your power back over the trauma that has occurred. You may have felt helpless at the time. Now, you can regain a sense of inner power in counseling. So essentially, these holistic, positive coping tools are a variety of calming techniques. Self-care skills and self-love tools can be really helpful for believing in yourself. As well, you can better understand you triggers for anxiety, depression, anger, and how to prevent fights from escalating. Therapy for trauma teaches you how to nurture yourself in the most challenging of times.
How can trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut reduce conflict?
When you’re having a panic attack or a post-traumatic stress disorder flashback, you can use the grounding skills you learn form PTSD therapy. In Waterford, Connecticut, you can learn how to cope with anger, frustration, annoyance, fear, and anxiety holistically. Art therapy, yoga therapy, music therapy, and walking therapies are available. These movement based therapies are helpful for stopping intrusive, obsessive negative thoughts.
If all you can think about is the past, the team of therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling in Waterford, Connecticut can help.
With trauma memories flooding your brain, you may be having a rough day. It might be difficult to get out of bed or goto work. As well, you might hear your inner critic and find it hard to motivate yourself. If you are critical to yourself, unintentionally, you are also being critical to your spouse. PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut can help you create self-care list and morning routines. Implementing more structure and improving self-care routines can help you feel calm. This w ay, you can bring the best version of yourself to your marriage. With structure and routine, you can feel less anxious and overwhelmed. Your trauma therapist can help you know what to do when anxiety or overwhelm take over.
To begin, click the button below to book a phone consult for complex PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut.
What can I do today before getting into PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut?
Connecting through the five sense can be a great activity for couples in Waterford, Connecticut. When couples meditate together, they share in self-care skills. Taking time each day to share values of inner peace and self-regulation can improve your marriage. Use your five senses to ground yourself next time you are in an argument. Think about the las think you tasted and the flavor of that taste. Try tasting something right now mindfully. For instance, taste a piece of chocolate, a peppermint, or some warm tea.
Smell can help you ground and calm yourself when you have an anxiety attack or PTSD flashback.
Smelling something like a sachet of lavender or Balsam Fur needles can be calming. Try smelling a ginger tea steeping. That smell of ginger is just a great way to reboot this system and ground you.
Is touch a positive coping tools in trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut?
Yes, touch can be healing. Warm up like a lavender rice-pillow or put your hand on just touch a warm cup of tea. Hold like something that’s in your fridge and cool. Feel a squishy stuffed animal. Notice the present moment and breathe. When couples take the time to be calm before talking, it can improve the relationship communication. Trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut helps couples learn healthy communication skills.
How can trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut support a better marriage?
Sometimes, couples forget how to be playful, laugh, and take life less seriously. As well, issues like affairs, infidelity, cheating, and arguments can lead to stress on the marriage. When couples have ben together for a long time, they tend to develop sexual dysfunctions and sexual challenges. By building a strong foundation of healthy communication skills, you can grow together after painful trauma events. Wisdom Within Counseling in Niantic serves the Waterford, Connecticut area.
How can couples deal with anger, irritability, frustration and conflict in a healthy way?
For one, couples can take time to cool off and be apart. Now, this doesn’t mean making a bad decision. So, to calm yourself down, look at something that reminds you of your family. Look at something something that brings you joy. Sometimes, people can get PTSD flashbacks looking at childhood photos. So, maybe don’t look at those right now. take a pause form the triggering topics and put away the things that are triggering. Focus on looking at positive things to calm yourself down and feel grounded. Like if you like memes, like go on Pinterest and look up funny memes.
To begin, click the button below to book a phone consult for complex PTSD and trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut.
Trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut includes creative, expressive arts, yoga, music, and holistic therapies
Meditation can be calming for couples. Couples therapy for trauma helps partners speak kindly to themselves and to one another. To start talking kindly to yourself, being by repeating a positive affirmation. So, every time your mind remembers a negative, frightening, trauma memory, build yourself back up. You can also use positive affirmations to calm your partner’s sight, flight, and freeze responses. Instead of walking away from your spouse when they have a PTSD flashback or panic attack, repeat a positive statement out loud so they can hear you encouraging and coaching them though it. “I am calm and at peace in this moment.” As well, “I am proud of all of my accomplishments,” and “I am attracting healthy relationships in my life,” are great. Speaking encouragingly to yourself is key in trauma and PTSD recovery. Positive affirmations to rewire the brain and manifest positivity in present moment thinking.
Get outside together to heal from PTSD and trauma
Now, my last tip for couples who are dealing with complex post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms is to be outdoors. In the fresh air, and being in nature can reduce PTSD flashbacks. Plus, there are so many parts of nature to appreciate outside. Changing your environment can change up your thoughts. Notably, nature therapies and adventure therapies are scientifically proven to help ground you. You can lie on your back and gaze up at the clouds and see what figures the clouds look like. Even if it’s winter, get your snow suit on and just get outside for five minutes. If it’s summer, go outside barefoot and fell the sun on your skin.
Being in nature is very opening for positive energy and is spiritually connecting.
Devil’s Hopyard in East Haddam, Connecticut is a great place to go hiking as a couple. Also, goto Oswegatchie Trails in Waterford, Connecticut, or Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic, Connecticut. You might even see a cool animal like an eagle or a hawk, and those are said to bring spiritual energy. Being in nature is a really good way to just get in tune and increase your trauma coping strategies. By incorporating mind-body holistic therapies, the team at Wisdom Within Counseling help you feel confident over the regret and pain of past. Wisdom Within Counseling offers you art, yoga, music, and nature therapies for coping with anxiety, anger, and frustration.
Positive coping strategies from PTSD and complex trauma therapy for couples in Waterford, Connecticut
If you’re struggling with complex trauma, and a cycle of high conflict fighting in your relationship, know that you’re not alone. There is help and professional support out there. If you don’t have a therapist, our team at Wisdom Within Counseling would love to support you and your spouse in couples therapy for PTSD and complex trauma. You can gain a sense of meaningful connection, overcome roommate syndrome, and talk about building a healthy sex life. You can learn to nurture yourself through panic attacks from skills you get from your therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling. We offer you art, yoga, music, and nature therapies too. Also, you can your spouse can practice expressing different emotions together.
Couples therapy in Waterford, Connecticut can help you have a better relationship, sex life, and a closer marriage.
We can talk about issues you might not be able to talk about with friends or family. For instance, your sex life and orgasming are one of those topics you can bring to marriage therapy. You get a confidential and safe space to learn how to have the close, safe, loving, intimate relationship you have always been wanting.
