Blog posts, news articles, and other resources from The Center • A Place of HOPE
Most people are aware the effects of a traumatic experience can last for a long time. What you may not know is that future generations can inherit -- sometimes literally -- these effects as well. Many families have been impacted by generational trauma, and it’s possible that you are facing...
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (also known as PTSD) is exactly what you’d imagine from the name – a disorder that occurs in people after they have experienced a traumatic, stressful, shocking, dangerous, or frightening event. What kind of traumatic or stressful events can cause PTSD? The type of events...
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a condition that can develop after exposure to an extremely threatening or horrific event or series of events. Many people associate PTSD with combat situations and the experiences of military veterans. However, many people suffer from PTSD due to a range of events, so...
In this article, we will be looking at trauma in detail – what it is, how it happens, the impact of trauma on individuals, and who is at risk. Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) will be explained in an easy to understand way, with a description of how it...
A person suffering from anxiety spends most of his or her time either remembering some frightening event that’s long gone, or imagining ones yet to come. In other words, their minds habitually gravitate to the past and the future, but rarely give any thought to what is happening right here,...
The truth is that anxiety has many sources, can accompany many disorders (such as PTSD), and can wear many faces. Let’s look at the different ways anxiety can present itself in your life. The descriptions below are offered in the spirit of “knowledge is power.” The more you know about...
When asked “What is post traumatic stress disorder?” many people naturally think of problems suffered by some soldiers who have been exposed to combat and the other horrors of war. While PTSD disorder among military veterans understandably receives much of the public’s attention, any person of any age who has...
Part I of a Six-part Trauma Series. Trigger warning: This is a difficult topic. Some examples of traumas will be alluded to without details in order to set a scene for clarity and relatability. _____________ “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just snap out of it? It’s been almost...
We each tend to harbor one or more secret activities or behaviors that we just can’t seem to get enough of. This “never enough” activity becomes our absolute necessity, our reward, our coping mechanism. We need (or so we think) this activity to insulate ourselves from the world. Because this...
A number of our clients come to The Center with chronic pain that has persisted for years. This is often referred to as Fibromyalgia. The client has tried pain medications, diets, stretching, physical therapy, massages, and more. Nothing has seemed to work. But after we begin treatment using the whole...
It’s springtime. The weather has turned and the sense of renewal is in the air. Beautiful flowers, tree buds, mowed lawns all signal the rejuvenation of flora and fawna. You may be experiencing the sensation of renewal as well. Longer days mean more outdoor activities, more engagement with others, and...
Did you ever play with wind-up toys as a kid? Remember how if you wound the toy too far, it broke? Well, you are the wind-up toy. You are the wind-up toy, and anxiety keeps winding and winding you up. At some point, anxiety could over-wind you, so you’ll break....
When people are burdened by fear, worry, and anxiety, they struggle to live productive, happy lives. These same feelings propel them headlong into excesses. Often, they are focused on the negativity associated with their excesses, such as obesity or alcoholism or addiction to pornography. They want help to "just stop"...
To help you identify your patterns of worry and what activities or thoughts they are most associated with, you need to answer the following questions. Take your time to answer these questions and rally think about your answers.
Anxieties are progressive, so it seems logical that one of the answers to anxiety would be a progression of a different kind. When a fear starts out small and keeps expanding, the way to combat anxiety is to cut that anxiety down to size. Instead of trying to take on the whole fear, you start small, working your way up your fear, like climbing a ladder.
Imagine being involved in a terrifying incident where you were physically harmed or threatened. Then imagine reliving that awful memory over and over again, each time as fresh and horrific as when it happened. This is the essence of PTSD.
It’s difficult for your body to rest and sleep if your mind is stuck on fast-forward. I’m sure most of you have experienced the sleep disturbances that come prior to the start of a family trip, an important business meeting, or even an anticipated confrontation with a friend or associate....
Jill suffered a devastating anxiety attack. She had been depressed for months over her upcoming fiftieth birthday. Instead of being a celebration of a half-century of life, Jill dreaded the date. She forbade her family from making "a fuss." She refused to go out with friends as the date approached. ...
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The whole person approach to treatment integrates all aspects of a person’s life: