A trauma is not an experience. It is an emotional response to an experience. A trauma is something that happens to you and that makes you so upset that it overwhelms you. What is a trauma to you, might not be a trauma to others. It all depends on our past emotional experiences.
A traumatic memory is different from a normal memory in that it freezes the most terrible moment of the trauma just before it happens. It is like having a bad dream of falling and waking up before you hit the ground. The brain keeps replaying this frozen moment over and over again whenever the memory is triggered. These are called “Flashbacks”. I suffered from these “Flashbacks” for over twelve years: how-i-cured-my-ptsd/
Over the past thirty years great strides have been made on the effective treatments of PTSD, phobias, and other intense emotional states without medications, electroshock treatments, or medical operations. Finding a therapist that can help people with one of these effective treatments below is another story.
There are hundreds of different therapies practiced in the US and over 200,000 therapists practicing. Psychotherapy is not a science. It pretends to be a science, but in reality psychotherapy practiced on human beings is an art. This makes people seeking help “roll the dice” to find effective help.
While it’s true that not all therapists are equally skilled or compatible with every client, it’s essential to recognize that there are good and bad practitioners in every profession. If you encounter a therapist who makes you uncomfortable or fails to meet your expectations, it’s perfectly acceptable to seek out another professional who may be a better fit for you.
Most seeking therapy do not know the differences between helping professionals. Less than 10% of psychiatrist do psychotherapy. Most psychiatrists today are called, “ psychopharmacologists”. The old term “shrink” should no longer apply.
The following professionals do psychotherapy: psychologist, LMSW, LMHC, LMFT, LGPC, LCSW-C, LPC, and LCPC. If you see one of these psychotherapist and your one particular trauma/flashback isn’t healed in four sessions, look for another therapist.
Many without insurance or other financial resources will take prescription drugs from their medical doctors , or get illegal drugs, or alcohol to cope with their debilitating emotions. Hopefully this blog will help you heal rather than cope with these emotional states.
I believe old “talk therapies ” like psychoanalysis, CBT (Cognitive Based Therapy), 12 Step Programs, and so called “flooding therapies ” (PE) Prolong Exposure Therapy require too many painful sessions, 50 % of the time are a waste of time/money in dealing with PTSD, and are many times harmful to the client having to relive their traumas repeatedly.
None of the eight (8) listed trauma healing procedures below will require you to talk about your traumatic memory/memories in order to heal. Sometimes it takes minutes rather than years to heal a traumatic memory. Forget the movie/TV dramas on psychotherapy.
Nine out of ten people with PTSD also have PTSD nightmares. If you are one of these persons, you might first look at the blog link below before going any further:
https://clintmatheny.cdn-pi.com/learn-how-to-stop-ptsd-nightmares/
I made this blog to help both those without the financial resources for therapy and for therapists looking for improved ways to treat their clients. I have listed below eight (8) effective treatment procedures for these traumatic emotional states.
They are not in order of my preference and if you do a procedure that doesn’t work for you, experience the others. Remember: trauma treatment is NOT one tool fits all!
It would be very unusual for all eight to be ineffective. If the very unusual happens, contact me at: clint77090(at)gmail.com. I really want to know!
On procedure number 5 it might be helpful to have a friend or a therapist help guide you. Be sure to watch the videos and follow the instructions by first working on a mildly unpleasant emotional feeling to test its effectiveness
1.Trauma / Phobia Cure (RTM): a-trauma-phobia-cure-ptsd-cure-10-year-follow-up/
2. EMDR Self Administered :EMDR-eye-movement-desensitization-reprocessing/
3. Dynamic Spin Procedure: dynamic-spin-procedure/
4. The In Technique: the-in-technique/
5. Eye Movement Integration (EMI) Procedure: eye-movement-integration-procedure/
6. FreeSpotting:a-wonderful-self-help-technique/
7. BrainSpotting:self-brainspotting/
8. The Haven Technique:using-the-havening-technique/
If you believe you were traumatized as a child, checkout these links for a qualified Flash or BrainSpotting therapist in your area. I highly recommend both modalities.
Disclaimer
Before participating in any of the blog’s recommendations, I recommend that you consult with a physician or other Medical and Mental Health Provider.
If you choose to ignore the above advice and decide to use this material for your own or another’s recovery from prior trauma – for instance you are a trained facilitator or therapist – you are accepting full responsibility for your own actions and through this you absolve the author of any liability for any repercussions from your actions.