PTSD/Complex Trauma

“If we simply try to avoid confronting painful experiences, there is no way to begin the healing process. In fact, this denial creates the very conditions that promote and prolong unnecessary suffering.”
— Peter Levine

At Blue Sky Therapy, we actively work to depathologize trauma and recognize trauma as a “normal response to an abnormal event”. We recognize the prevalence of trauma in our society. We use a trauma-informed, holistic approach because we believe healing happens best when you are treated as a whole person and not as a set of symptoms or a diagnosis.

Blue Sky Therapy uses both “top-down” (cognitive) and “bottom-up” (body-based/somatic) therapies to process and heal trauma.

What is Trauma?

“Trauma can be a response to anything that is experienced too much, too soon or too fast…it can also be experienced as a body response to a long sequence of smaller wounds.” - Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP

Trauma can be experienced as an event which is perceived as life-threatening, or as a response.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)/Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) is a response to an event which the body and system perceives as life-threatening. This can be an event which is directly experienced or witnessing an event. PTSD is a clinical diagnosis with the following symptoms: intrusive memories, dissociation, avoidance, negative beliefs about self/others/the world, and an activated nervous system.

Complex Trauma - Complex Trauma (also referred to as C-PTSD) develops as a result of long-term exposure to traumatic stress or repeated traumatic events which occur during childhood. This often happens over the span of time and in the context of relationship.

Each body responds to trauma differently. Responses to trauma can include thoughts, feelings/emotions, body sensations, symptoms and behaviors. What is important is you learn the unique cues and language of your body and nervous system.

Trauma can look like:

  • Avoidance - avoiding sensations, thoughts, feelings, external cues/triggers (people, places, things, activities)

  • Negative thoughts about self, others and the world 

  • Difficulty trusting others

  • Hypervigilance or a feeling of being on edge/on guard, an exaggerated startle response

  • Anxiety, Excessive worry, Panic

  • Sleep disruptions, Insomnia, Nightmares

  • Intrusive thoughts/Intrusion sx (memories, dreams, flashbacks, distress when exposed to cues that resemble an aspect of an event)

  • Flashbacks

  • Anger, Irritability, Agitation, Rage

  • Low energy; Excess energy

  • Changes in arousal (Hypervigilance, “buzzing”, panic, feeling on edge); Hyperarousal/Sympathetic; Hypoarousal/Dorsal Vagal

  • Emotional overwhelm, reactivity, difficulty managing emotions

  • Shame, Guilt, Worthlessness, Self-doubt

  • Difficulty setting boundaries

  • Perfectionism

  • Busyness

  • Hypertension; GI disturbance/IBS; Heart disease; Body tension and/or pain in the body including chronic pain

  • Problematic substance use/misuse/abuse, Compulsive behaviors (sex, gambling, food, work, exercise, etc); Addiction; “Ritualized Compulsive Comfort Seeking”