ANXIETY to PTSD

Most women in our society today are experiencing anxiety in one form or another. Worry, stress, and other expressions of anxiety seem to be a chronic underlying state for most women. For another group of women, the struggle is with something called post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. PTSD is an extreme, complex constellation of fear based survival habits that formed over time in childhood as a reaction to constant danger and torment without escape. The common root cause of PTSD in adult women is unresolved mental habits produced by crippling childhood fears and wounds. If a young girl grows up in an environment in which constant danger, chaos, threats, and actual acts of violence, abuse or neglect are all she knows, she will grow up with a world view shaped by these influences. Her habits of mind, beliefs, and expectations will be limited by intrusive fear based memories and thoughts which will limit her health, well being and enjoyment of life.

My mission as a therapist is to team up with women struggling with PTSD, and others limited by various forms of anxiety. My great joy is to help these beautiful souls evolve up and out of the darkness and into the light.

Some of what I have learned as a therapist working with women struggling with PTSD and Complex PTSD

 The problems can be dissolved completely, fully, and for good with my approach.  Talk therapy can be used to help women express themselves, and identify the problem areas. 

There is no need to retell the story of what happened in order to let go of and dissolve the triggers, emotionally laden memories, thoughts, fears, and all the habits that keep you stuck and repeating the past.

The women seeking my help are highly motivated achievers.  They are not victims or survivors.  They are highly motivated. These women got up and out as soon as they could,  usually between the ages of 15 and 18 years. They did not align themselves with the perpetrator, and don’t see themselves as victims or survivors.  I see them as achievers and I applaud them.  Achievers seek resolution of problem states, seek improvements in themselves and their lives, and when they find my services, they go for it!

Achievers are intuitive, intelligent, resilient, strong, resourceful, creative, helpful, soulful, self starters, and empathetic.  When they first come to see me, some of these qualities are not apparent to them. 

On the other hand, survivors and victims of abuse, neglect, maltreatment rarely seek help.  Many end up abusing substances, causing harm to others, developing physical ailments, or engaging in self harm or sabotage.  Many repeat the treatment they received with their own children.  Many seek to align with the abuser rather than get up and out.  Again, they are not the ones who seek help.  They identify with their world view of victimization.

 Beginning with the individual client, dissolving hurtful, dangerous beliefs and behaviors in the family ancestry is possible. 

 Beliefs and behaviors are passed down through the generations.

Familial patterns of beliefs and behaviors were born of necessity at an inception point. And were formed, developed and passed down without question from parent to child consciously and unconsciously.  “That’s just how it is.”  “That’s how I was brought up.” For survival, there can be much minimizing, ignoring, and dismissing of the hurtful and dangerous behaviors of others, and of one’s own feelings and thoughts.

Harsh, dangerous environments under tyrants or a mentally ill parent in early family history produced reactions that through repetition produced habits of thoughts, words, and behaviors that span the generations.

Some ancient ancestors became achievers, others became survivors, victims, or perpetrators.  Many used substances and behaviors to distract the mind from the problem states.  The achievers did the work of self improvement, and other activities highly regarded by the community.

Over the generations, certain world views dominated the family mindset, instilling distorted, limited, fear based language and nonverbal communication absorbed by the children.  Young children and infants are most affected by the family problem states.  If mom is dangerous, life for an infant and young child can be hell.

Lack of trust, lack of love and kindness, resignation, disappointment, conformity, fears, shame, feelings of inadequacy, fears of not being worthy of good things in life, poverty and other negative root survival frequencies are examples of familial patterns that are passed on without thinking, without change.  They are simply accepted as the way things are for the members of the family.  Accident proneness and medical problems such as cancers, and miscarriages, are present in a large percentage of women who experienced sibling incest as a child.

As a member of the family tradition who got up and out, the achievers who meet with me regularly, successfully break the patterns for themselves, their families, their partners, their lineage, and for the generations to come.

 
My clients and our work have taught and continue to teach me important inside information about and patterns that result from childhood maltreatment.