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Part 2: Trauma and the lizard brain

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What do you think when you first hear "trauma?" Maybe you think of giant, devastating earthquakes, maybe you think of abuse and neglect, or (if your guilty pleasure is Grey's Anatomy like me), maybe you think ERs and doctors. Either way, in the last post we didn't talk about why trauma can have the far-reaching effects that it can. We're going to take today about how trauma affects our minds, emotions and our bodies. When we undergo anything traumatic - whether its a "big t or little t" trauma (see the last blog post ) it is something that typically evokes intense emotions. Usually there is a mix that includes fear and we can go into fight or flight or freeze mode. If you've ever jumped when someone surprised you, you know what it is like to go temporarily into fight/flight/freeze mode. With trauma, we go into fight/flight/freeze mode and can get stuck there. It can stick with us on an on-going basis, or it can blindside us when we encounter some...
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Part 1: I get a lot of people asking what EMDR is "all about."

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Many people in my personal life ask me what EMDR is "all about."  By the way, if you ever find yourself asking me about EMDR, be prepared to learn for the next two hours. I can't contain everything I want to say about EMDR in this post and it's something I am very passionate about.  Today we're going to talk about what EMDR means, what's it like to experience, and how it works. To begin, EMDR is an acronym that stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. For those of you who have heard of EMDR you probably think "that's the weird therapy when a therapist moves their hand in front of your face." You're not wrong! However, there is so much more to it than the eye movements (referred to a Bilateral Stimulation or BLS). EMDR is the evidence-based therapy modality for treating Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and other trauma-related problems . It is also  used with other disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar, other mood...
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New Years Resolutions...can they work?

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"I'm going to start going to the gym and lose weight." "I'm going to read more." "I'm going to save up for a down payment." "I'm going to do better with self-care." New Years Resolutions. Some of them fail, and some of them succeed. What makes certain resolutions doomed for failure, while others are followed through and achieved? Honestly, it depends. I know that is a frustrating answer, but there isn't just one answer! Today will will discuss tried and true ways to set yourself up for success. These ideas go for all goals, not just New Year's Resolutions! Though there are lots of different tools to help you set and follow through with New Year's Resolutions, today we will talk about two: SMART Goals and Stages of Change. SMART GOALS  Setting our New Years Resolutions well can be a head start to meeting those goals. SMART Goals is an acronym, and following it is a way to ensure that you and others around ...
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What about control and anxiety?

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There are two kinds of things in this world. Things we can control, and things we cannot control. Today we will talk about anxiety and how it can be related to control. In this day and age, our anxiety can come from feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start, or out of control. We find that our anxiety can be handled differently whether it is inside or outside our control. First, we must identify what is in our control and what isn't. Even when things seem to be sort of in and out of our control at the same time, we can break it down into pieces that are one or the other. For example, whether or not I get home safely is a mix of in and out of my control. Let's talk about how we can break our worries into manageable pieces. "Will I get home safely." What's in my control: my paying attention to road conditions, driving a reasonable speed, not taking mind-altering substances, responding to other drivers, etc. When I am able to determine the things in my c...
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Can we change the way we feel and act by changing how we talk to ourselves?

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"A blog! Isn't that great, I get to share the things I know and help people!" "A blog? What if I can't think of anything to say, and isn't that a lot of work?"         This is the first blog post for Summit County Therapy! For today's topic, I chose to discuss self-talk and how important it is in our everyday lives; it influences things like working, relating to other people, and even starting a blog.  It's pretty clear that the two messages above about starting a blog will result in very different feelings. Depending on the message I decide to believe, blogging could be either exciting and uplifting, or scary and overwhelming.  If you have heard of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), you might already know that our thoughts about a situation impact our emotions, and these in turn impact our behaviors. If we change our thoughts, we can change the way we feel and act.         Thoughts can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Think a...
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