Spoiler Alert: Your Body Isn’t Broken!
That’s right! Let’s read that again! Your body isn’t broken! YOU are not broken.
If you’re like many of the women I talk to, you believe that your body is broken because it’s doing some strange things that you just don’t understand. Perhaps the doctors don’t even understand and have told you that there’s nothing wrong with you. You, however, know your body, and you know that something isn’t right. You may have even come to believe that YOU are broken!
These are the stories I hear repeatedly from women who have experienced traumatic events and who don’t realize that their uncomfortable emotions and physical sensations are the result of those experiences. In the trauma field, we often say that “your body is having a normal response to an abnormal circumstance.” While the emotions and physical symptoms in your body are weird and annoying (in that they didn’t exist prior to the event you were exposed to), they are common reactions to having encountered a threatening situation.
Why does this matter?
This matters because now you can stop believing unhelpful and untrue thoughts about yourself such as, “I’m broken. My body is broken. I’m unworthy.” Instead, my body is having an understandable response to a very scary event that I experienced. With a statement such as this, we can extend self-compassion, rather than judgment. The words we think influence how we feel and even how we act, so imagine the impact when we constantly repeat negative and untrue statements to ourselves over time.
This also matters because trauma treatment is available. Trauma therapy can help you address the uncomfortable emotions and physical sensations you’ve been experiencing since the event. Trauma therapy can also help you understand the reason that you began thinking negatively about yourself, others, and the world around you ever since the event occurred. Even those negative, critical thoughts about yourself can be responses to a traumatic event.
So, if this situation resonates with you and you haven’t yet sought mental health counseling services, consider this your invitation. When you meet with a mental health professional, they will ask you to complete screening forms, so they can accurately assess and diagnose your situation. From there, the therapist can help provide you with valuable information about what you’re experiencing, and they can help you create treatment goals. Of course, they’ll help you process the traumatic event itself and introduce you to coping strategies as well!
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Interested in Online or In-Person Counseling for Trauma & PTSD in Monkton, MD?
If you’re a Marylander who knows that counseling is the direction you need to take, the therapists at LifeSpring Counseling Services are here to help. We offer online counseling services for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. We also offer Brainspotting as a specialized service, and Brainspotting can be done online, too!
Here’s how you can get started! Online and in-person counseling for trauma and PTSD aren’t the only services offered at our Monkton, MD office.
The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students and international students.
Written by: Melissa Wesner, LCPC
Melissa is the Founder of LifeSpring Counseling Services in Maryland, and she is a Certified Brainspotter and Brainspotting Consultant who specializes in treating depression, anxiety, trauma, and sex therapy. She also hosts international wellness-based business retreats for entrepreneurs who want to build community and prioritize their own well-being.
