 The marking on September 11, 2011 of the 10 th anniversary of the terrible 9/11 attacks, caused many of us to contemplate the impact of this horrendous event on our society. One effect is that we are only too familiar with trauma. The horrific attacks has affected every American to some degree, but the impact on victims, first responders and their families is astounding. Those of us living in the New York City area after the attacks experienced the trauma for weeks as we watched funeral after funeral at our parishes, most of us knowing someone who died or someone who lost someone close. Trauma leaves an indelible mark, and understandably so. Such intense terror overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope and can lead to symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, such as nightmares, trigger reactions, intrusive memories and more that can last for years or even decades. When the traumatic event is triggered later on, the individual can return to their state of shock and re-experience the horror as if it were happening all over again.
Sadly, traumatic events happen more than we realize. A child in an alcoholic home may experience many things that overwhelm their ability to cope. Women who experience rape or abortion; a soldier in a war zone; someone who goes through an unexpected and abrupt break up…people may experience trauma and be unable to free themselves from its effects for years. The reason is that when we experience something like that, because of the high emotional impact, the experience and memory get encoded on the right side of the brain, where emotions get processed and they get stuck there. Talking about the event may not be enough to reprocess it properly and encode it on the left, more logical side where the memory can be put in the past and no longer intrude when the person experiences something that reminds them of the traumatic event.
I am convinced that trauma is at the root of many situations where individuals repeat destructive patterns in their lives and relationships. So much of what is brought into the therapy office was traumatic in nature, but because such events have become woven into the fabric and experience of the individual, it’s traumatic nature is downplayed and hence its effects go inadequately addressed.
There is hope for survivors of trauma. Prayer for inner healing is a tremendous help but there are also techniques that can be utilized to help individuals reprocess these events. Margaret Vasquez, LPC…founder of Freedom’s Calling Trauma Therapy Institute in Georgia, shared on EWTN's "Women of Grace", her expertise and wisdom in helping people overcome the effects of experiencing traumatic events in their lives. If you or someone you know has suffered a traumatic event in the recent past or in childhood, there is hope. You can break out of the patterns that may have held you back your whole life.
Check out the website on this topic and see if you might benefit from intensive trauma therapy.
http://www.freedomscalling.org/FreedomsCalling.org/Home.html
May God richly bless you all. |
