Why You Still Feel It: Trauma, the Body, and Whether EMDR Can Help
You’ve been coming to therapy for a while. Talking about what has happened in the past, what continues to spark in your memory. You’ve been exercising, stopping drinking coffee, limiting alcohol, getting rest, spending time with friends, taking Instagram off your phone... doing all of the things and still….
Why does this $^%^&!! still affect me?
You might not even call it TRAUMA anymore.
You might call it stress.
Burnout.
Anxiety.
You’ve said in therapy… “It wasn’t even that bad.”
But you still can’t fully relax.
Your mind loops.
Your sleep is off.
You feel on edge or you feel nothing at all.
Trauma (and your response to it) is not a character flaw. It’s your nervous system’s response. And it doesn’t simply fade with time.
OMG My MOOD IS Up and Down Every Day!! — HELP!
The world we’re living in right now is, to put it lightly, crazy. Things seem to be shifting at a pace that’s both dizzying and exhausting. One minute, everything feels fine, and the next, you’re overwhelmed, anxious, or sinking into a fog of depression. For so many of us, the combination of global chaos, personal pressures, and the constant bombardment of stressors can make it feel like we're walking on a tightrope, constantly teetering between holding it all together and falling apart.
Navigating Depression in a Chaotic World
In a world fraught with challenges, it's normal to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed. From distressing news headlines to personal struggles, the weight of societal and individual burdens can feel insurmountable. These external stressors can trigger situational depression, a common reaction to specific events or circumstances. However, for some, these feelings persist, evolving into long-term depression that requires professional intervention.
Anxiety as an Ally
The holiday season often triggers anxiety around issues like spending time with family members who say or do hurtful things and maintaining healthy boundaries around eating or drinking. This year, many people have additional worries about contracting and/or spreading COVID-19 during their holiday celebrations, which may feel especially heightened after nearly two years of living in a pandemic. (Not to mention the other systemic concerns that we might also feel anxious about.)