Fear can take many forms and too often people find themselves inadvertently suffering from the fall out of living with the consequences of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome or even Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
How you deal with any stressful experience and the support structures around you can have an enormous impact on your self worth.
Negative reinforcement in relationships only fuels a fear driven response. Bullying, emotional abuse and destructive family relationships when compounded can leave you feeling lost, hopeless and depressed. This can leave you vulnerable to self-medicating and substance abuse. There is a strong link between bullying and substance abuse and often childhood trauma can result in dysfunctional behaviour as an adult.
The symptoms of (C)PTSD include the following:
- Reliving the event.
- Avoiding people and situations.
- Negative and self sabotaging behaviour which can result in self-harm.
- Hyper-arousal and panic disorders.
CPTSD can be seen in the increase in executive burn out where employers face workplace substance abuse. Lack of financial security and retrenchment has left many people adrift. As a result, relationships at work become strained where fear of losing a job is expressed as procrastination, panic disorders and may relate to unexpressed or disowned anger. Healthy expression of anger such as: saying yes or no when the moment requires it, establishes or maintains an integrated sense of self. Chronic stress treatment clinics provide life coaching and promote healthy coping mechanisms.
When these boundaries have not been respected, for example when you have been abused, you learn to keep it locked inside, which can lead to issues around self-worth and identity.
Seeking professional help is the bravest and kindest thing you can do for yourself.
There are a number of rehabs that specialise in treating unresolved trauma. The symptoms of unresolved trauma are often eclipsed by substance abuse.
Symptomatic treatment of addiction only treats the behaviour and then focuses on achieving a sustainable sobriety.
Trauma can be treated through intensive Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and there are rehabs that integrate this into their inpatient and outpatient programmes. Recovery Direct is a trauma based recovery programme. Treating trauma offers an addict a chance to work through past events in a safe place. There is hope. Chat to one of our counsellors for more information.
