Trauma & PTSD: You Don’t Have to Go Back to Move Forward

Trauma happens in the past. So why can your brain and body continue to react as though the danger is happening right now?

In this episode of Moving Minds Forward, Gary Johannes explores trauma and PTSD, what they are, the difference between them, and what may be happening in the brain when traumatic experiences continue to affect everyday life.

We look at why traumatic memories can feel so immediate, what happens when the brain’s threat system remains on high alert, and why flashbacks, hypervigilance, avoidance, disrupted sleep and seemingly unexplained triggers can persist long after the original danger has passed.

Gary also explores the difference between PTSD and complex PTSD, some of the factors that can keep the threat response going, and why avoiding reminders of trauma can sometimes make life gradually smaller.

Most importantly, the episode looks at what can help.

While some established trauma therapies involve deliberately working with traumatic memories, Gary explains how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy takes a different approach, focusing on reducing the brain’s threat response, building a greater sense of safety and helping people move towards the life they want without requiring them to repeatedly revisit the traumatic event itself.

There’s also a simple grounding technique you can use when you feel yourself being pulled into a flashback or overwhelmed by a sense of being back in the moment.

If you’ve been living with the effects of trauma, or you’ve avoided seeking help because you believed therapy would mean having to relive what happened, this episode offers another perspective.

Moving Minds Forward with Gary Johannes explores one condition at a time: what’s going on, what may be keeping it going, and what can actually help.

Find out more about Inspired To Change and our nationwide network of Solution Focused Hypnotherapists at inspiredtochange.biz.