Tag Archives: How to Deal with Traumatic Memories

When You Know the Truth but Don’t Feel Free

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God created us as whole people. We think, feel, remember, relate, respond physically, and experience life spiritually.

Pain can reach every one of those areas. That’s why healing sometimes has to reach them too.

Why Knowing Isn’t Always the Same as Healing

Here’s the reality. You can change the way you think about an experience while your emotions and your body stay stuck in the old pattern.

You may know, “That happened years ago. I’m safe today.” Yet your body still reacts to a reminder as if the threat is happening right now.

That doesn’t mean truth isn’t working. It means healing may need to reach more than your conscious thoughts.

What Is Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT)?

Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT) is an approach designed to work with emotional and physiological responses. It can include light, color wavelengths, eye movement, and interpersonal connection.

The goal is to help identify and transform emotional patterns that keep shaping how you experience life. At New Vision Counseling and Consulting, our therapists in Edmond and Oklahoma City use ETT alongside other modalities such as EMDR and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), to list just a few.

Where Faith and Healing Meet

This is where Christian counseling becomes so meaningful for the clients who want it.

Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). I love that verse.

But many people sitting in counseling offices already know a tremendous amount of truth:

    • They know God loves them.
    • They know they have value.
    • They know their past doesn’t define them.

Yet emotionally, they still live as though the opposite were true.

Good Christian counseling should never tell someone to pray harder, have more faith, or memorize another verse when their nervous system is carrying years of pain.

Faith and excellent clinical care work together. For clients who want their Christian faith included, we honor what Scripture teaches about truth, identity, forgiveness, hope, and restoration while we address the emotional wounds that keep getting in the way. Clients who don’t wish to incorporate faith receive the same high standard of care.

When Pain Becomes Identity

One of the greatest dangers of unresolved pain is that we start confusing what happened to us with who we are.

    • “I experienced rejection” becomes “I’m unwanted.”
    • “I failed” becomes “I’m a failure.”
    • “Someone abandoned me” becomes “Everyone eventually leaves.”
    • “I was hurt” becomes “I can never trust anyone again.”

Those are very different statements.

Your experiences matter. Your wounds matter. Your story matters. But your pain is part of your story. It doesn’t get to become your identity.

For Christians, our deepest identity comes from something greater than the worst thing that ever happened to us. It comes from the God who created us, loves us, redeems us, and is still writing our story.

Coping Is Good. Healing Is Better.

I don’t want people simply learning to tolerate anxiety, trauma, shame, anger, or fear for the rest of their lives if deeper healing is possible.

Coping skills matter, and sometimes they’re exactly what you need. But counseling can also ask a bigger question: What is underneath this, and can it actually change?

That’s where approaches like ETT get me excited. We can work not only with what you think, but with emotional responses that have been reinforced for years. When you want it, we bring faith into that process, not as a substitute for therapy, but as part of understanding meaning, identity, hope, and restoration.

The Goal Is Freedom

The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is greater freedom.

    • Freedom to respond to today instead of reacting to yesterday.
    • Freedom to experience relationships without old wounds running the present.
    • Freedom to believe the truth about yourself at a deeper level.
    • Freedom to become more fully the person God created you to be.

Your story matters, but the painful chapters don’t get to decide how it ends.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ETT therapy?

Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT) is a counseling approach that works with emotional and physical responses using elements like light, color wavelengths, eye movement, and connection with your therapist.

Do I have to include faith in my counseling?

No. Faith is an invitation you can take up as much or as little as you want. Your quality of care stays the same either way.

What does ETT help with?

Therapists use ETT with anxiety, trauma, depression, grief, shame, anger, and long-standing emotional patterns, to list just a few.

Where is New Vision Counseling located?

We have offices in Edmond and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Take the Next Step

There’s more to your story, and healing can be part of what comes next. You don’t have to stay stuck, and you don’t have to walk this path alone.

Call (405) 921-7776 or visit NewVisionCounseling.org to schedule with a counselor in Edmond or Oklahoma City.

Shawn Maguire, LPC Founder | Counselor | Speaker New Vision Counseling and Consulting

How to Deal with Traumatic Memories

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How to Deal with Traumatic Memories

Experiencing trauma can cause complex emotional reactions characterized by various symptoms and mental health concerns.  Trauma is usually the result of enduring or witnessing violence, abuse, sexual assault, war, or the sudden death of a loved one but there are many other disturbing experiences that can contribute to traumatic reactions. The way we react to trauma and the symptoms that manifest are unique to each person.  Maybe you have experienced a life threatening situation and just can’t seem to shut off your anxious thoughts and intrusive memories of the event.  Or maybe you witnessed a loved one encounter a violent attack and you feel on edge and constricted by constant muscle tension and nausea.  Can you relate?

How to Deal with Traumatic Memories

Another aspect to keep in mind is that trauma has no timeline and does not discriminate.  Maybe you experienced a childhood filled with abandonment and neglect and now you struggle to form healthy relationships as an adult.  Or maybe an adult violated a serious boundary in your youth and you are terrified to let others get close.  Sound familiar?  What is even more confusing is trauma that occurs early in life when individuals are in their preverbal stages. These memories are encoded in the implicit area of your brain resulting in responses and sensations rather than visual memories or experiences that you can recall or describe.  Do you have gaps in your childhood memories?  Do you believe you were harmed but can’t seem to recall the exact event?  If so, you are not alone and are certainly not crazy.  Keep reading to discover why trauma affects us in this way and how to cope with your trauma.

Traumatic Memories

Do you struggle to remember details of your traumatic memories or even have gaps in your early recollections of these hurtful experiences?  This is a very normal reaction to a not so normal event or experience.  What you remember about your trauma and are actually able to verbalize is often only part of the story and here is why.  There are various regions of the brain responsible for forming memories and there are several different forms.

Have you ever smelled a scent that took you back to a certain day or time period?  Maybe you have seen an item or picture for the first time since you were a child and were not even aware that you had the memory until now.  Sometimes we even resonate with a certain time of the year or with a certain song but have no idea why.  These are all examples of memories that are not able to be verbalized.  We feel them, experience them, are even affected by them, yet still are not able to explain them.

Traumatic Symptoms

The same principle applies to trauma and this is why we often experience symptoms of trauma, not memories.  These symptoms can manifest as irritability, depression, anxiety, fear of intimacy, anger, etc.  The reason these manifestations occur are in part due to the way our brains and nervous system function.  When we experience trauma or are threatened with danger, the area of the brain responsible for thinking, making decisions, learning, and utilizing logic shuts down, while the brain regions responsible for instinct, emotions, and fear responses goes into overdrive.  As these changes happen, the brain encodes these traumatic experiences as sensations, feelings, symptoms, and emotions.  Below are some practical ways to help you cope with trauma and decide the next steps for your healing journey.

Deal with Traumatic Memories

Stop the Cycle

To help end the control that trauma has over you, it is important to counteract the natural sequence of events that contributes to your triggers.  The term “trigger” is used to define the reaction we have to cues that remind our brains and instincts of the traumatic experience we endured.  When you encounter these cues and experience the panic, fear, and distress associated with your trauma, your brain is reengaging in the fear cycle mentioned above.  To help stop this reaction in its tracks, it is important to activate the region of the brain that controls choices, thinking, and logic.

To begin this process, stop and notice your surroundings.  Think back over your day and walk yourself through the steps you took to end up where you currently are.  Ask yourself, “What was I doing prior to experiencing this reaction? What is happening right now?”.  By doing this, you are activating the area of your brain that is associated with logic and disengaging the area that is responsible for expressing fear.  By simply practicing awareness and noticing these things, you can begin to calm yourself down.

Mindfulness

Another version of the above exercise is practicing mindfulness.  Mindfulness helps you to remain in the present moment and focus your mind on your immediate surroundings.  A good way to employ this coping skill is to focus on your breathing and heartbeat as you count down from 10. Take deep breaths and remind yourself that you are safe.  Triggers are reactions based in the past that bring those fears to the current moment.  This is why it is helpful to remind yourself that you are safe and to acknowledge your current surroundings.

Another helpful way to practice grounding is to utilize the 5,4,3,2,1 method.  The way to begin this exercise is to count down from 5 using each one of your senses.  For example, find 5 things you can see, notice 4 things you can hear, touch 3 things you can feel, notice 2 scents you can smell, and find one thing you can taste.  This can be done in any environment or situation to help calm you and bring peace, but is even more effective when you get into nature or step outside.  Get some sun and feel the wind on your skin.  By practicing this, you are teaching your mind how to emotionally regulate your nervous system and stress levels.  This is an important skill to learn to help cope with triggers and traumatic reminders.

Seek Professional Help

Trauma is a serious mental condition that you may not be able to fully heal from on your own.  The above lessons and information can help reduce the effects that trauma places on your life, but if you are experiencing continual intense reactions, it is best to seek help from a mental health professional.  The resources that you need to heal are already within yourself, but you may need assistance tapping into them.  There are various therapeutic modalities available to help access the inner workings of your trauma in a way that you can not do without the help of a trained counselor.  The good news is that you are in the right place. At New Vision Counseling and Consulting, we have a unique team of highly trained and compassionate counselors waiting to help you!

Next Steps

We hope you found this message hopeful and inspiring.  Should you have any questions or wish to seek counseling services, your next natural step is to reach out to the New Vision Team.  We offer a wide range of trauma-focused therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT), among others.  Our therapists do not shy away from addressing complex trauma, and they are trained in techniques to heal dissociation, attachment issues, anxiety, and other common symptoms related to traumatic experiences.

Ready to begin your healing journey? If so, we encourage you to take the first step towards healing and building a brighter future by scheduling your first counseling appointment with a counselor who you most connect with. Read each of our individualized testimonies so you can find the right fit. We are waiting for you with open hearts, ready to offer you the help and guidance you need.  You are not alone, and there is hope for healing and recovery! Call us today at (405) 921-7776. We can’t wait to hear from you!

How to Deal with Traumatic Memories?

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What are traumatic memories? Traumatic memories are formed after experiencing an event that caused high levels of emotional arousal. When faced with a traumatic experience you are unfortunately also opened to the likelihood of experiencing flashbacks of the event. This can bring emotions such as fear, sadness, shock, shame, or anger. Fortunately there are ways you can cope and reduce the stress of experiencing a traumatic memory. In this blog I will go over 3 ways to deal with traumatic memories.

How to Deal with Traumatic Memories

Identify Triggers

When faced with traumatic memories it is important to be able to identify things that trigger them. There are two different types of triggers, external and internal. External are things such as people, places, smells, relationships, interactions, and anniversaries. Some examples of internal triggers are memories, emotions, or body sensations. In order to become aware of these you should write them down, so you are able to track what you are doing before and after experiencing a traumatic memory.

Mindfulness

When you have a history with trauma it is not abnormal to want to put your focus on the past or on an imagined future. By doing this it makes it hard to live your life in the present moment. Staying in the present can help ground yourself when flooded with traumatic memories. Here are some ways to do that:

5-4-3-2-1 Method- Find 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
Define Reality- Verbalize statements that are true about the current moment. For example: “I am sitting on the couch with my husband.”, “I am safe in my home.”, “I am about to start cooking dinner for my family.”
Make a list of things that make you feel safe- This can be a person, place, or sensory items such as a smell, a song, or a tv show. Remind yourself that you are safe.

Therapy

There are many different types of therapies for trauma that can be helpful when dealing with traumatic memories. Some examples are EMDR, talk therapy, exposure therapy, Emotionally Transformative Therapy (ETT), and support groups. When you find a therapist that is right for you, they will if you are ready to begin the journey of overcoming your trauma then we are here for you. At New Vision Counseling and Consulting we have a team of caring therapists who are highly trained in helping you work through trauma and create a life you want to be a part of. The natural next step is to call us at (405) 921-7776. We hope to meet you soon Ill be able to help identify techniques that are best for you. Going to therapy not only helps you cope with traumatic events but helps in understanding and processing an event.