Psychogical Trauma

A deeply distressing or disturbing experience. A person’s world becomes split in an attempt to reconcile two very opposing realities: safety, and a lack of safety. A world that is mostly safe and secure and has love, with a world that has very little or none. And this can lead to terrible anxiety and depression. This is not surprising when you consider what has been experienced/witnessed: a knowledge of what terrible things can exist.

This is why I have chosen the image above. It is an aboriginal cave painting from approximately 50,000 years ago. It shows what humans have been through, that we are programmed to adapt and to heal.

Therapy

In terms of therapy, I am trained in E.M.D.R. trauma therapy. But really my main approach is slow understanding. I worked with trauma a lot in Cambodia, mostly with aid workers and some Cambodians who had been in the genocide, and some members of the armed forces, and I find its important to listen and understand first.

There are many articles all over the internet, and many books have been written, so  I won’t go into extensive detail here. If you want to know more, here’s an article that is good: More Information