Can Therapy Help After Medical Trauma
Countless people have had negative experiences in medical settings. You may still feel emotionally devastated after a serious illness or injury, especially if your doctors overlooked your symptoms when you sought treatment. Alternatively, you might have been treated poorly during a medical procedure, struggled to recover from a painful surgery, or had a traumatic experience while giving birth. A surgery and anesthesia can leave you feeling “frozen” or lacking in energy afterwards, because it can feel similar to a life-or-death situation to your body. Children in particular can be susceptible to feeling overwhelmed or frightened by medical procedures.
Experiences like these can lead to medical trauma. But because people with this condition often don’t realize they have it, they may not seek professional treatment. Furthermore, sometimes people with medical trauma feel hesitant to see a therapist because they were previously mistreated by professionals in a healthcare setting. However, therapy can be highly beneficial for people with medical trauma. Here’s how therapy can help those who have suffered from medical trauma.
Therapeutic Approaches for Treating Medical Trauma
There are several different therapeutic approaches that counselors can use to address medical trauma. For example, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy can help you rewrite any negative beliefs you’ve adopted after your experience, while Brainspotting® can help release trauma in the brain stem through visual exercises. Furthermore, Somatic Experiencing® facilitates a release of the tension that you’ve been holding on to in your body, allowing you to finally relax and enjoy relief from your physical symptoms. Somatic therapies such as craniosacral therapy will help your nervous system return to its optimal state of balance and self-regulation.
Learning To Cope With Triggers
Lots of people who have lived through medical trauma can feel understandably triggered in medical settings. While it’s easy to see why these triggers develop, avoiding medical settings can be dangerous, as you might not be able to get the care you need for serious conditions. In therapy, you can learn to process these triggers so that you return to the doctor and get treatment when you need it.
Practicing Mindfulness
Medical trauma can leave you feeling unsafe in your own body. Your therapist can help you develop mindfulness skills so that you can start living in the present again. They might teach you meditation, grounding techniques, or breathwork that can help you stay centered when you’re stressed. You’ll be able to stop ruminating on your traumatic experiences so that you’re not living in the past. Plus, you can use these skills to stay calm in medical settings.
Effective Communication And Self-Advocacy
Most healthcare professionals want to do everything they can for their patients. But sometimes, they might miss key symptoms or fail to listen when a patient tries to speak up about their condition. If you experienced medical trauma or felt dismissed in a situation like this, you might be hesitant to talk to a doctor again because you fear that your won’t be able to express your needs clearly.
You can practice effective communication and self-advocacy in therapy. Your therapist can walk you through different communication techniques and help you get more comfortable stating your needs clearly. In the future, you’ll be able to trust yourself and feel more empowered in medical settings again.
Prioritizing Self-Care
After living through medical trauma, your body and mind might need a little extra self-care. When you’re struggling with your mental health, it can be tough to prioritize self-care and truly attend to your most basic needs. It’s easy to neglect exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and keeping up with hobbies that bring you joy.
Your therapist can help you get back on track when it comes to self-care. You’ll learn how to balance self-care with your other responsibilities so that you can heal your body and mind.
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Are you or your child struggling in the aftermath of medical trauma? Working with a therapist can help. Reach out to us to discuss your options for scheduling your first session for trauma therapy.