trauma – Suzanne Johnson's Therapy

Time Debt, Trauma, Trying Too Hard and Ambition

One of the most common after effects of any kind of trauma is becoming so busy one does not have time to process one’s emotions or feel the emotional pain.

Do you find yourself frequently striving to achieve the impossible?

These photos are of my dog Pebbles jumping to catch a squirrel about 20 feet above her (looking down at her smugly). I wonder why my dog will jump 20 times to reach an animal that is clearly out of her reach. I also wonder why people try so hard to make relationships work where they are being mistreated by their spouse, work long hours to experience a sense of achievement that keeps escaping them, and try to do more than their time allows.

Trauma treatment — Under the influence of trauma, Part 2

People who have experienced emotional and mental abuse often are so wounded they sometimes do not have the ability to empathize with other people. They are unable to put themselves in the other person’s shoes. Ironically these same people may do too much for others and allow themselves to be taken advantage of. They sometimes feel another person’s pain as if it were their own pain.

Trauma, insomnia and how to handle “the morning after” (you slept poorly)

Trauma, whether big or “small” often interferes with sleeping. Even when someone is in therapy, self help support groups and/ or taking medications or supplements to help the person sleep, insomnia may persist. I believe therapy that gets to the root of the problems using EMDR, EFT or other methods can restore one’s sleeping patterns. In the mean time, this post is how to help a person make the most of a bad night’s sleep.

Note: I know insomnia is a very frustrating complex problem that can cause great suffering. I have experienced it many times myself. Keeping this in mind, I hope the following reflections can be helpful: