Do you often feel "unsafe" and worried, fearful?
Do you fear addressing conflict and ignore this but worry about it?
Do you find yourself catastrophizing and making "mountains out of mole hills" and can't seem to stop your racing thoughts?
Are you constantly in a "high alert mode" seeing and fearing “threat or danger" when in reality not there but your body and mind are reacting "as if" ? (physical symptoms, and pain in your body)
Is it difficult or impossible for you to be in a relaxed and calm state of mind, and body, and spirit? Do you have difficulty falling and staying asleep?
Do you avoid feeling and acknowledging your emotions by keeping "busy" and "distracted"?
Do you fear and avoid intimate connections: close friendships as you fear "rejection" if anyone "really got to know you"?
The above questions are to help you to see how anxiety is so often an effect of trauma. Take some time in a quiet space to go through these questions and answer them honestly and courageously with a compassionate heart!
YOU NEED TO "FEEL AND BE SAFE" IN ORDER TO HEAL
When you are in that fearful/anxiety ridden state of mind then your body is responding to that with heightened chemical arousal which can add to your anxiety. Part of your self care is learning how to reparent yourself (see “Three Ways Of Learning To Reparent Yourself”)_and to begin to notice how you often feel "unsafe" as this is an effect of having experienced trauma. When early attachments are safe we are comfortable in our own bodies and in relationships. Only then can you feel: "it is safe to be close and it is safe to be myself". When a parental figure is not a" Safe place" but a "dangerous one" then that creates an internal struggle between the yearning to attach and be close and the drive to be "safe" as well as fuels anxiety. When a child does not receive the message that they are safe both physically and emotionally then as that child grows it can be very difficult to trust as well as assess safety vs, danger, Often the impulse can be to fight or flee from closeness or making choices that are reinjuring rather than "safe" which further heightens anxiety about being close.
THERAPY WITH THE"RIGHT" THERAPIST IS A :"SAFE PLACE FOR YOU TO BE YOURSELF"
It is so essential that in choosing a therapist that you choose a therapist who truly gets how important and essential it is for you to feel and be "safe". If what I am saying resonates with you and what you have been going through I would look forward to being the "right" therapist for you and to provide the "safe space": that you so need in order to be able to trust!
Please give me a call for a free 20 minute consultation.
Click here for more information on bilingual Anxiety Therapy.