Skip to main content

Oh, what a catastrophe!


Today I want to talk about trauma. Trauma goes in various forms. There is physical, spiritual, and even emotional trauma. These also fall into three types of traumas: being Acute, chronic, or Complex. Acute trauma results from a single incident. Chronic trauma is repeated and prolonged, such as domestic violence or abuse. Complex trauma is exposure to varied and multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature.

I have documented in these posts the trauma I have experienced in the past many times. I have even had sought counseling to work through these. For me, the lasting effects might never go away. What do these effects look like for me?

At any moment, I assume the worst possible thing will happen. This is called Catastrophizing. Why does this happen? It is because something traumatic happened to me and my brain stays on high alert to keep and/or prepare for something happening again.  

Next, I do a bit of mind reading or trying to predict what others around me are thinking. This is a survival technique used because of past traumatic events to prepare me for potential probable events to come and how I could avoid them.

Finally, over focusing on the negative and minimizing the positive. This is a thought pattern modeled for me by those I grew up with when I was younger, and my brain was easily influenced. Ask anyone who knows my family. The common joke is ‘Bindner’s are worriers.’ They are not wrong. Of the three, this is my worst struggle.

I have had times in my life when one or more of the issues has been almost debilitating. Through age and experience, I have learned to accept these and now understand the source of the trauma. Simple acts of decision making, going places with larger crowds and even travel I have struggled with.

Because of therapy and life experiences, I have learned to adjust and deal with my brain and perception of the world. Have I conquered these? No. Will I ever? No. But I can learn to recognize when these thoughts are occurring and through time and practice, lessen the impact they have on my daily life.

Until next time.

Tim (Kilmer)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Love to get your feedback on what you read!

Popular posts from this blog

End

I don't worry about the world ending.  It has ended for me many times and always started the next morning. Until next time  Tim
Post a Comment
Read more

Mentor

  When my photography journey rekindled back in 2015 with a trip to Maine, I never knew how far I would come and how important pushing a button on a camera would be. I have come a long way, but still have so much more to learn. A mentor is described as an experienced and trusted adviser (noun) . Also, as someone who will advise or train (someone, especially a younger  colleague ) (verb). Wikipedia also states mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person.  Since I have gotten more serious about my photography, I have been looking for a mentor that fits these categories listed above. Seeking guidance, I reached out to a handful of “professional” photographers to inquire about mentorship. I received no response from one person, another person casually mentioned that they rarely mentor, and a third person kindly explained that they ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Somewhere I Belong

  Music is so powerful. It is an integral part of my life. It often helps me express my feelings that I cannot do otherwise in any form. Yesterday this happened to me once again. I drove to Curby, Indiana for my massage. It is a nice smooth drive west on interstate 64 to exit 92. With the temperature in the upper 70s and the sun shining brightly, I had all four windows down and my sunroof open. Cruising at 78mph, my playlist on shuffle and the radio turned up. We have all done this. I arrived at my massage location and as it begun, my massage therapist referenced my latest post tiled 3am . She, however, had a different take on it. She mentioned that she had read waking up at 3am consistently was because of anxiety or anger, not creativity. The CALM app states, “ The mind has a funny way of kicking into overdrive just when you need rest the most. Stress and anxiety can activate your body’s “fight or flight” response, making it hard to stay asleep . ” For me, waking up at 3am h...
Post a Comment
Read more