Grief & Trauma Counseling

WHY IS MY LIFE GOING HORRIBLY?4 WAYS GRIEF & TRAUMA IMPACT YOUR LIFE

THE BRAIN CHANGESGrief and trauma produce stress. Your body responds to stress by sending out cortisol, a hormone whose job is to make sure you survive--think "fight or flight." Some of the effects of cortisol during traumatic situations occur in the prefontal lobe, amygdala, and hippocampus. Changes in how well you express emotions, control emotions, and retain memories may be signs that grief/trauma are effecting your brain.

THE BODY REACTSStress from trauma and grief also effect the body. Cortisol slows digestive function, and over long periods of this hormone's production, you might experience nausea or irritable bowel symptoms. Adrenaline increases your heart rate and blood pressure and draws blood away from the skin, which in a sustained state, leads to acne and hair loss. Stress also suppresses sex hormones, which may lower libido and disrupt menstrual cycles.

WORLDVIEWS ALTERWhile you may hold true to your faith still, changes in the way you see the world happen after trauma or the death of a loved one. The world may not feel safe anymore. Your trust may have been broken. You may feel powerless or out of control. Self-esteem and confidence may be suffering.

RELATIONSHIPS SUFFERDepending on the circumstances, you may find that some distance has been created between you and other loved ones. Maybe they are trying to be helpful, but it's really not. Maybe you don't want or feel like you can't share your feelings about the event, loss, or situation. The distance may have happened instantly or just over time, but either way, grief and the fall out from trauma can wreak havoc on one's ability to be intimate emotionally and sexually with someone else.