TRAUMA

Trauma is the impact on a person of an event. It is a response to a high threat, or perceived threat, that can leave lasting effects on our mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and sexual well being.

Trauma can stem from singular events such as a car accident, physical or sexual assault, witnessing a natural disaster, the loss of a loved one, a severe illness or injury, or a series of "little t" traumas.

Complex trauma can stem from chronic and/or multiple experiences during childhood or adulthood including neglect, household dysfunction, domestic violence, repeated sexual abuse, and inter-generational trauma that repeats through the family.

Symptoms can include:

• Reliving aspects of what happened including intrusive memories, flashbacks and nightmares

• Becoming emotionally upset, experiencing a racing heart or palpitations, or feeling tense, shaky or sweaty when reminded of the event

• Hyperarousal including feeling on edge, alert and looking for signs of danger, difficulty concentrating, becoming easily upset or angry, or difficulty sleeping

• Partial or fragmented memories including sounds, smells and tastes, or difficulty remembering what happened

• Avoidance of triggers including thoughts and emotions, people, or places that remind you of the event

• A negative sense of self including deep rooted shame and worthlessness

• A negative view of the world and/or people, or particular types of people, viewing them as unsafe or dangerous

• Difficulty forming and maintaining healthy relationships

ANXIETY

Anxiety is an excessive fear or worry that can have a significant impact on our day to day lives.

We can find ourselves ruminating about things such as everyday tasks, our health, finances, social situations, relationships, our safety, or how others perceive us.

This can look like persistent worry that is out of proportion to the likely outcome of the event, overthinking and imagining worst case scenarios, difficulty handling uncertainty, difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness and fear of making the wrong decision, being unable to let go of a worry, and feeling unable to rest or relax.

Symptoms can include:

• Feeling on edge

• A racing heart rate or palpitations, shortness of breath or shallow breathing, panic attacks

• Struggling to get to sleep or stay asleep

• Achy or tense muscles, gut issues such IBS, skin flare ups

• A lower or higher appetite than usual

• Heightened sensitivities to light, sound and/or touch

• Withdrawing socially, over cleaning, over exercising, being unable to sit still and rest

• Becoming easily fatigued

DEPRESSION

Depression is a mood disorder that involves long lasting or persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness, helplessness, or emotional numbness.

Depression can develop following life circumstances such as traumatic or stressful events, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, financial difficulties, isolation, loneliness, a family history of depression, or chemical imbalances in the brain, amongst other things.

Everyday tasks can seem difficult and we can struggle to find the motivation to do the things that normally bring us joy such as our hobbies, seeing friends and family, or going to work. Our self care can decline and we can find it difficult to get out of bed, shower, brush our teeth and cook ourselves dinner.

Symptoms can include:

• Deep feelings of sadness, hopelessness or helplessness

• Low energy

• Chronic fatigue

• Finding it hard to get going in the  morning

• Sleeping for long periods of time and still feeling exhausted

• A lower or higher appetite than usual

• Achy or tense muscles

THE INNER CHILD

Our Inner Child is an archetype that represents a part of our personality: who we were as children. As adults it looks like the carefree aspect of ourselves that runs through the woods kicking the autumn leaves and climbing trees, drawing, painting, playing with our children, or simply letting our hair down with friends at the weekend.

Our  Inner Child also represents the unmet needs we developed during childhood. We all have them, even if we had a good and happy childhood. These needs can show up for us in adulthood as co-dependency, trust issues, anxious or avoidant attachment styles, confusion over our seemingly illogical reactions, jealousy, anger, unhelpful communication styles, or finding ourselves constantly in victim mode.

By connecting with and healing this wounded inner part of ourselves, we can learn to make different choices in how we respond to or handle situations.

GRIEF

Bereavement is the loss of someone or something in our lives, or a change that we are struggling to cope with. Grief is the result of the bereavement we have endured.

This can include intense feelings of sadness, despair or feeling numb. Feelings of anger, guilt, loneliness or even relief. We may feel fatigued, experience achy or tense muscles and sleep disturbances. We may want to withdraw socially, experience trouble concentrating and experience loss of joy in our usual hobbies and activities.

We can experience grief when a loved one or a pet dies, the ending of a relationship, losing or starting a new job, the loss of our health or physical mobility, or an identity change within ourselves of who we used to be and who we are turning into, for example, aging or becoming a parent. This list is non-exhaustive, we all grieve differently and over different things.

Grief is unique and not a one size fits all experience. Myths around grief include the way it should look, for example, needing to cry or look sad all of the time, the length of time it takes to grieve, for example, "it's been a year, I should be over it by now", needing to be strong, or feeling as though we are burdening others with our pain.

MY APPROACH