counseling can help you to heal from the traumatic responses to tragic events that you went through in the past.
According to science, once you have been through a traumatic experience, or you are a direct descendant of people who have gone through such, you have an altered stress gene.
This makes you vulnerable to stress and depression. You are more likely to be triggered than people who have a regular stress gene.
The bad news is that you will definitely pass your genes to your children. Thus, you can see why ignoring therapy and professional counselling can harm your offspring.
If they too ignore therapy in the future, they will pass the same to their offspring, and the chain will go on and on. Therefore, please make the chain of trauma stop with you, by getting professional counseling in Eugene Oregon, or wherever you are.
But first, perhaps you would like to know how counseling helps individuals with trauma. Keep reading to see how you can benefit from this.
Why you need counseling: Worrying statistics
Many people fear going for therapy because of the fear of being judged. By the time the need for therapy becomes inevitable, it is usually too late.
Statistics show that about 70 percent, mostly more, of adults will go through a devastating event one or more times in their life. Now, out of these people, about 20 percent are likely to develop mental disorder related to trauma.
If not treated in good time, this is going to lead these people to abuse alcohol, drugs, or make them perpetrators of domestic violence. While the memories might disappear for some time, it takes just one trigger to bring them back again.
Until you get therapy, you will keep getting triggered. Eventually, this is going to affect your relationships with your partner, at work, home and anywhere else.
The true healing for you will only come from therapy. There are different types of therapy designed for just this type of healing. When you go to see a counselor, they will find out which type can work best for your condition.
With mental health being a big challenge all over the world, it is your obligation to prevent yourself from becoming a statistics.
Why seek professional counseling?
Why should you pay for counseling services whereas you can go and pour your heart out to your auntie?
Well, there are so many benefits of seeking a professional’s help. Here are some of them:
A neutral space where there is no judgment – A professional therapist will give you the space that you need to pour your heart out. This person is trained to help you unburden your mind. There is no judgment, no blame games. It is just you letting out the things that have been bothering your mind.
You get empathy – While the counselor might not have been through the same experiences as you, he or she has a strong sense of empathy. They are able to fit in your shoes and see things from your perspective. A counselor can become so immersed in your issues such that he or she has to go for therapy. That is what empathy does – it helps you to feel another person’s pain.
Someone to listen to you – One of the greatest gifts that professional counselors have is that they listen. They don’t just hear, but they listen actively. The healing starts as soon as you start talking!
You get respect – Respect is a tool of trade for professional counselors. He or she wants you to feel free to talk about your life. When you need a break, he will grant it. When you become overwhelmed by emotion, you can let it all out. Total confidentiality is also assured, and the counselor will never disclose anything you tell them.
Professional counseling helps with relationship problems
Persistent relationship problems could be a response to trauma. However, you cannot know this until you see a counselor for a proper diagnosis.
If you went through a tough childhood, growing up with domestic violence, were raised by one parent, went through child abuse, you can experience serious problems in the future. This is why therapists ask a lot about your childhood, as that is where most issues start. If you are from such a background, you are likely to experience problems in all of your future relationships.
Instead of trying to reconcile with the concerned people, first, ask yourself whether you need therapy. That way, you can review the relationship when you are freed from any baggage.
By the way, relationship does not only mean how you relate with relatives, children, or your spouse. It also means how you relate with colleagues, friends, and strangers alike.
Be prepared to revisit your childhood experiences with your counselor. This is the only way that healing will come, after establishing the root cause of a problem.
Get help with addiction problems
What starts as leisure slowly grows into a sort of escape for you. When you are facing issues at work, your mind seeks an escape. You start to find your relaxation from substances, alcohol, pornography, gambling and other things.
Once these things start giving you a high, you are hooked. You get deeper into them as your body becomes more resistant to small doses, until you find yourself consuming more and more.
Professional counselors know very well that most addiction problems have different root causes. They also know that rehabilitation might not help because it does not address the root causes of the addiction.
If you have gone through serious loss 1https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm, you are more likely to start abusing something. A broken marriage, death of a loved one, job loss, closed business, and other challenges can make you seek an escape in substances.
If you experience the urge to go that direction, seek professional counseling fast.
Counseling helps you to cope with depression
The feeling of hopelessness and frustration can sink you into drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicidal thoughts fast.
If you have a past of trauma, you are more susceptible to stress more than a person with a healthy past. Even things that you can handle easily can stress you and scatter your mental health. While you can handle stress on your own, if it advances to depression, you will definitely need professional help.
Once you know that you are vulnerable to stress and mental breakdown, you should know the triggers to avoid. Even better, you should see a therapist to help you address the root causes of your trauma responses.
Wrapping it up
We have waxed lyrical in this post about the need to see a therapist as soon as you see signs of trauma response.
But there is an even better solution – Do not wait that long. If you know your past was riddled with problems, admit that you are more vulnerable to mental breakdowns. Seek counseling before you experience stress.
As you go for yearly health checkups, toss in at least one therapy session with a counselor. Even when you are not experiencing any problems, go for therapy because it is not only remedial, but it is preventative as well.
If you are on therapy, do not make it a one-off thing, even after getting well. Rather, you should make it a yearly thing, even when you don’t feel stressed mentally.
You know how they say to “make hay while the sun shines?” That is right! When you are feeling all healthy and pumped with energy, book a session with a counselor.
This will protect you from sinking too much into stress and depression, if they attack you in the future.
Additional resources and citations
- 1https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm
