Seeking Treatment: Part One

Have you ever wondered if something painful from your past, which you can’t quite let go of, is evidence that you carry unresolved trauma? In this excerpt from my book, Trauma: Healing the Hidden Epidemic, I address some of the challenges of seeking treatment. I’ll continue this topic in my next post, as well.

“If you have ever considered seeking treatment, even if you have yet to follow through with it, I acknowledge your courage. Facing reality and accepting that we need help can be a very difficult and even painful process.

“In the United States and in many other nations around the world, we embrace a culture of independence and self-reliance. Accepting help has a stigma that many people aren’t comfortable with. But disarming this ideology is an important step that we must take if we want to truly embrace our natural capacity for healing and resilience. The truth is that almost everyone needs help, and they need to be empowered to get it.

“Because we are often blind to signs that indicate a much larger, trauma-related issue, many people don’t know that they need treatment in the first place. It’s easier to ignore the parts of our lives that are dysfunctional than to look at them and think, “Something bigger is going on here.” We ignore and deny these problems, which more often than not causes additional damage.

“The effects of trauma are cumulative—they can progress and intensify over time. In fact, time does not heal all wounds. Trauma left untreated can grow from a manageable problem into a significant one. Time merely gives the effects of trauma the opportunity to fester and cause deeper wounding, both physical and emotional. Trauma-related wounds seldom subside on their own. Many victims require treatment before they can recover from their experiences and restore peace and functionality to their lives. Without treatment, they may spend a lifetime trying to figure out where their lives got off track and why physical and emotional pain seem constant. It’s an uncomfortable, if not tragic, existence.

“Happiness, joy, fulfillment, peace—all are abstract terms that may be difficult for us to define. We don’t always know when they are present in our lives, but we sure do miss them when they’re absent. If you have a history of trauma, it is affecting your current life whether you realize it or not. Treatment is the best way to liberate yourself from a past that prevents you from experiencing the great things in life that are possible. It may sound philosophical, but it has become a reality for many of our patients.”

                        From Chapter 6: Seeking Treatment