Therapy for Trauma and PTSD in Leesburg, FL

Our childhood experiences affect the way we see the world and our interactions with others. People very often try to shove those memories away or push them to the back of their head. Even though you may shut the memories out, the impacts still show up.

How do you see your relationships and connections to others? Romantic relationship are not the only types that are affected; it impacts friendships and professional interactions as well.

This can look like:

• People pleasing and “fawning”

• Believing your value comes from what you do for others

• Feeling like people only like you if you’re perfect

• “Performing” happiness or a certain personality to connect with others

• Being too hard on yourself to little mistakes

Experiencing a violation or break of trust in a relationship very often changes the way we see other relationships. The way we approach people in the future and how we interact with them is altered; the way we perceive connection changes and makes it difficult to trust others and yourself.

You may even be stuck in a pattern in your relationships but find it difficult to change. You’re always feeling like you’re the issue, but you don’t know how to quiet that the voice in your head—or maybe the one from your partner—that always circles the problem back to you.

You may notice:

• Questioning yourself or judging your reactions

• Always feeling like you’re at fault

• Hesitancy to express yourself

• Being uncomfortable talking to others about your situation

The impact of being othered is real, and for some, it’s a life-long experience. Race-based Traumatic Stress has real mental and emotional effects. Situations can look like outright discrimination, seeing racist acts happen to others, or systemic biases and barriers.

Repeated exposures have mental, emotional, and physical symptoms similar to PTSD, or could be PTSD. These symptoms could look like:

• Anxiety about interactions or certain environments

• Feeling on edge or on guard

• Anxiety or nervousness around others

• Reliving events or having unwanted memories

Maybe you were in a situation where you were injured or feared for your life. Maybe you saw something you can’t forget. Maybe something awful happened to someone you care about, and you can’t stop thinking about it.

Trauma can have many different effects on people. Reminders can happen anywhere, and sometime the reactions you may have can happen, even without a trigger. Some of these look like:

• Unwanted memories or nightmares

• Having reactions out of proportion to the situation

• Being hyper aware, anxious, and tense

• Difficulty sleeping or relaxing