Interpersonal Signs of Trauma
You have a hard time saying no to others, while having little to no trust of others, preferring to be self-reliant
You often feels that others don’t like you, are preoccupied with feeling accepted by others, and feel the tendency to please everyone
You withdraw from others when stressed or overwhelmed, at the first sign of a crowd, you feel the impulse to run
Emotional Signs of Trauma
You often experience low mood
You often experience feelings of guilt and shame
Sometimes you experience sudden but long episodes of “emotional flashbacks” that feels like reliving past traumatic experiences
You have difficulty feeling or describing your emotions
You engage in self-harm or self-punishment
You experience passive or active suicidal ideation
You find it hard to take care of yourself, and find comfort in addictive behaviours, such as substance use, gambling, emotional eating, etc
Cognitive Signs of Trauma
You’re often forgetful, and have a hard time concentrating on important tasks
You sometimes experience periods of disconnection from yourself or reality
You’ve lost (or never had) any interests or hobbies, personal relationships, or everyday activities
You sometimes feel detached from reality and have gaps in your memory
You can’t imagine a future for yourself.
You have very low self-esteem or self-confidence
Physical Signs of Trauma
You frequently experience nausea, dizziness, rapid breathing, and pain, sometimes without apparent trigger
You experience chronic fatigue and/or chronic pain
You are always hyper-vigilant, and are never able to relax
You find it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep
Counselling can help with finding your sense of safety and reconnecting with your inner self. Your journey doesn’t have to be alone.
Gaining clarity of your negative emotions may reduce their intensity and the need to isolate yourself from your emotions altogether.
Emotional regulation techniques, including Mindfulness, can help reduce reactivity to negative emotions and the intensity of dissociative episodes and emotional flashbacks.
Practice the skill of saying “no” and set meaningful boundaries to create new patterns relating to others.
Experiential healing and the “felt-sense” helps to find a sense of safety from within.