The Importance of Psychotherapy Following a Traumatic Event

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Going through a traumatic event can have many effects on your life. In addition to dealing with the aftermath of the trauma, you might find it difficult to move on. This can exhibit in the form of nightmares, anxiety, or even increased stress. It is crucial to receive care, both medically and emotionally, following an especially traumatic event. The medical care is to ensure that the body is healthy. The emotional care is to ensure that the mind is healthy.

Psychotherapy helps you put it behind you

There are many benefits of psychotherapy. However, one of the most important ones is that it allows you to move past a traumatic event. The only thing worse than going through a traumatic event is living with it for the rest of your life. Talk therapy can help by getting your thoughts and feelings out into the open. When you hold these things in, you can never really truly move on. Talk therapy can also help you confront someone, either someone that was a part of it or someone that you blame for the event. Your psychotherapist will find the techniques that help you release needed energy and emotions.

Psychotherapy allows you to understand your feelings

One of the reasons that trauma stays with us for so long, is that you don?t really understand why you are feeling how you are feeling. You might want to feel sad, but can only be angry. You might want to feel relieved, but you cannot stop crying. There are many reasons for emotions, but if you never explore them, you can never fully understand them. One of the best parts of psychotherapy, especially when it comes to trauma therapy, is the ability to explore and understand your emotions.

Psychotherapy can reduce your feelings of stress

Stress comes from many things. It also affects your life in many ways. It can affect your career, your relationships, and even your ability to get a good night of sleep. If you are unable to sleep due to stress, you may also be affecting your health. When you work with a psychotherapist, they will also focus on reducing your feelings of stress surrounding the traumatic event. They will teach your stress reduction techniques and you will work on them together in the session. They will also encourage you to use these stress reliever techniques when you are out of the session, such as at work or at home.

Psychotherapy can prevent or treat depression

Depression is much more than feeling sad. However, traumatic events can lead to depression, especially if the feelings are never dealt with. Once you are depressed, it can feel like a never ending cycle that you will never get out of. All of your emotions are heightened and you might lose your purpose. Psychotherapy and counseling are very effective in both preventing and treating depression. Your psychotherapist may or may not also refer you to a psychiatrist to receive pharmaceutical assistance.

However, it is never a good idea to rely solely on depression medications. The most effective depression treatments for traumatic events include both medications and talk therapy. It can also be helpful to remember that you are not alone. About 160,000,000 U.S. adults have had at least one major depressive episode in 2012. This makes up approximately 6.9% of all adults in the country. Additionally, approximately 50% of Americans with major depression do not ever seek treatment for the mental illness.

It is very difficult to deal with a traumatic event. It is, however, also very important that it is dealt with. This means dealing with both the medical and emotional side of the event. Psychotherapy is especially effective in working with trauma clients. It can help patients understand their confusing emotions, put the event in the past, and even aid through added stress and depressive symptoms.

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