Cary Terra, LMFT

"I just can't seem to get over what happened..."

If you have experienced a traumatic event – even years ago - and are having trouble getting back to feeling like yourself, you may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cary Terra, MFT has specialized training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – and can help you address what you’ve gone through and put your feelings in the past so you can experience the present.

Remember that trauma comes in many forms. Trauma is often addressed while working on seemingly unrelated issues: in family therapy with families in conflict, sexuall abuse therapy, in the midst of discussing family bereavement interventions. Trauma is in the eye of the beholder – what may be traumatizing for one individual may not be for the next. The key to understanding your own experience is looking honestly at symptoms. Read on for more information. Whether you’re looking for physical child abuse treatment options, help recovering from an assault or guidance in confronting family of origin issues, you can call Cary Terra, MFT for a free, 10-minute consultation.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) defined

Connor's Story

Six months ago, Connor was assaulted at gunpoint while walking to his car from the ATM at night. He was robbed by a man wearing a hooded grey sweatshirt, and sustained some minor injuries. Friends and family were relieved Connor was not more seriously injured or killed, and most told him how lucky he was. At first, Connor seemed to bounce back from the attack, and even felt grateful to have survived the incident. He returned to work almost immediately, and was back socializing and dating within a few weeks. After a few months, however, Connor began having nightmares about the attack, dreaming almost nightly of his assailant’s face and the gun he brandished. Connor began thinking more and more of what might have happened, how senseless his own survival seemed. His assailant, who was never caught, now haunted Connor’s dreams, and he even began imagining seeing him out of the corner of his eye during the day. Connor’s few trips to the ATM were met with a sense of panic, racing heart and nausea, and he slowly stopped visiting the ATM altogether. When Connor caught even a glimpse of any man wearing a grey sweatshirt, he would experience a surge of panic, though he knew rationally he had nothing to fear. Six months after the crime, Connor feels controlled by his symptoms. Connor has PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless. While many of us associate PTSD with veterans who have experienced the horrors of battle, many events can cause PTSD - especially if the event is perceived as unpredictable and uncontrollable.

PTSD can affect those who personally experience the event, those who witness it, and those who pick up the pieces afterwards, including professionals. It can even occur in the friends or family members of those who went through the actual trauma. This is a common experience of parents of children who have been abused, and in families dealing with severe illness and death.

PTSD: a response by normal people to an abnormal situation

The traumatic events that lead to PTSD are often so overwhelming and frightening that they would upset anyone….but not always. Trauma is an experience, and individuals respond differently to trauma. Perhaps the defining characteristic of the PTSD trauma is the lost sense of safety and the sense of helplessness that accompany the event.

After a traumatic experience, the mind and the body are in shock. Slowly, as you make sense of what happened and process your emotions, you recover from the shock and turn your attention to living life in the present. With PTSD, however, you remain in psychological shock. Your memory of what happened and your feelings about it become disconnected, so that history feels like it’s happening right now – and you feel traumatized over and over again.

If you’ve lived through the loss of a partner, you may find that family bereavement interventions can help you address the trauma you’ve experienced – and yes, losing a spouse CAN be traumatic, even causing symptoms of PTSD. You yourself are the expert on how you feel – if you feel you need help, seek it out.

Even traumas which happened decades ago – such as childhood sexual abuse – can cause ongoing symptoms of PTSD. Sexuall abuse therapy can help you address these events and finally free yourself of the emotions and thoughts which now may deeply affect your life.

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Did you know that following a traumatic event, almost everyone experiences at least some of the symptoms of PTSD? For example, many individuals react to trauma and have bad dreams, feel fearful or numb, and find it difficult to stop thinking about what happened. In most people, the symptoms gradually lift.

But what if the symptoms DON’T gradually decrease? If you don’t feel a little better each day? With PTSD, symptoms not only don’t decrease – they may actually get worse It’s important to remember that the symptoms of PTSD can take weeks, months, or even years to develop. They can arise suddenly or gradually, in response to a trigger, or out of the blue.

Common symptoms of PTSD include:

Re-experiencing the traumatic event

• Intrusive, upsetting memories of the event
• Flashbacks (acting or feeling like the event is happening again)
• Nightmares (either of the event or of other frightening things)
• Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma
• Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (e.g. pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension, sweating)

PTSD symptoms of avoidance and emotional numbing

• Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that remind you of the trauma
• Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma
• Loss of interest in activities and life in general
• Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb
• Sense of a limited future (you don’t expect to live a normal life span, get married, have a career)

PTSD symptoms of increased arousal

• Difficulty falling or staying asleep
• Irritability or outbursts of anger
• Difficulty concentrating
• Hypervigilance (on constant “red alert”)
• Feeling jumpy and easily startled
  

Other common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder

• Guilt, shame, or self-blame
• Substance abuse
• Depression and hopelessness
• Suicidal thoughts and feelings
• Feeling alienated and alone
• Feelings of mistrust and betrayal
• Headaches, stomach problems, chest pain
  

Getting help for trauma

If you suspect that you or a loved one has post-traumatic stress disorder, it’s important to seek help right away. The sooner PTSD is confronted, the more easily it can overcome. The primary purpose of therapy for PTSD is confronting – in a safe, controlled environment - what happened and accepting the event as a part of your past.

“But I can barely strand to think about it, much less “confront” it….” This is a common concern – but avoidance grows with time, and does it really save you any heartache? Probably not. In fact, it’s avoidance that will ultimately harm your relationships, your functioning, and of course, the quality of your life.

Why should I seek help for PTSD

Because not dealing with the trauma just doesn’t work. Your symptoms will probably get worse over time, and really emerge when you’re under stress. Cary Terra, MFT can help you learn cognitive behavioral techniques to reduce your anxiety and confront what happened. You don’t need to let the trauma affect your life in painful and damaging ways. Untreated PTSD has been linked to heart trouble, difficulties with anger, relationship difficulties and increased anxiety and phobias. Treatment can lead to acceptance, awareness of feelings , the ability to feel safe in the moment and more intimacy in relationships.

Beyond credentials, it’s important to find a PTSD therapist who makes you feel comfortable and safe, so there is no additional fear or anxiety about the treatment itself. Trust your gut; if a therapist doesn’t feel right, look for someone else. For therapy to work, you need to feel respected and understood. Cary Terra, MFT can help you begin the treatment process, or can help you find the therapist you feel you can work with. There’s never any pressure, and starting the process is sometimes a relief in itself.

What can I expect?

The initial session consists of an intake. We will sit down and cover some basic history, symptoms and your goals. Therapy is about exploring issues in a safe context – you will never be coerced or forced to discuss anything you’re not ready to address. By helping you deal with the trauma you’ve experienced, therapy will be a support, not a threat. Rather than avoiding the trauma and any reminder of it, you’ll be encouraged in treatment to recall and process the emotions and sensations you felt during the original event. In addition to offering an outlet for emotions you’ve been bottling up, treatment for PTSD will also help restore your sense of control and reduce the powerful hold the memory of the trauma has on your life.

Types of treatments for offered by Terra Therapy

• Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD and trauma involves carefully and gradually “exposing” yourself to thoughts, feelings, and situations that remind you of the trauma. Therapy also involves identifying upsetting thoughts about the traumatic event–particularly thoughts that are distorted and irrational—and replacing them with more balanced picture.
• Family therapy. Since PTSD affects both you and those close to you, family therapy can be especially productive. Family therapy can help your loved ones understand what you’re going through. It can also help everyone in the family communicate better and work through relationship problems. Family therapy with families in conflict can help.
• Collaboration with Medication Treatment. Cary Terra, MFT works with a number of specializing psychiatrists who, if appropriate, can help clients control their anxiety symptoms through medication – though medication cannot treat the underlying issues of PTSD.

What if I'm not sure about treatment?

You don’t have to be. If you suspect you might need help, you can ask for an assessment. Cary Terra, MFT will help you understand your symptoms so that you can make an informed decision about the necessity of therapy. There’s never pressure to enter treatment, and you attend sessions as long as you feel they’re helping. Call 619-548-3630 for information on how you can begin to change your life for good.

Cary Terra, MFT

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