Fixed States of ITR®

Fixed States of Trauma vs. Mental Illness

Have you tried therapy after therapy—traditional talk therapy, medications, mindfulness, etc—to treat one of the above listed mental illness diagnoses, yet you continue to feel stuck, like there's no recovering from that diagnosis? Well, maybe you've been given a mental illness diagnosis when you're actually stuck in a trauma response? Yes, you heard me! You may be stuck in a fixed state of the Instinctual Trauma Response. What is a fixed state of trauma? A fixed state trauma is when the devastating effects of a traumatic experience or multiple overwhelming experiences are trapped in the limbic system/emotional part of your brain and body. It's then experienced as patterns of reacting to various triggers as unresolved trauma resurfaces. This feels very disrupting to the person, to your thoughts, it influences your feelings, and it shows up in your body in unexpected and even frightening ways. It's often described as a feeling of looping in an endless cycle. 

Why traditional talk therapy often isn't an effective modality for this is because it doesn't go deep enough to provide resolution around the trauma. It may leave you feeling confused, hopeless and like you're "broken" when you're not. What I offer those in this situation are practical tools to help recognize trauma symptoms, so you can effectively ground yourself and prevent yourself from being triggered and feeling as if you're reliving your traumas. I can help you process the experience in a way so you can end your story once and for all. Talk therapy, while very effective in some ways, can even exacerbate a complication of trauma, something known as Alexithymia. This is where a person may have difficulty recognizing, expressing, and articulating emotional experiences, so talking it out can feel impossible, confusing and deflating. 

But I want you to know it’s not permanent. Trauma is a wound and wounds are healable. Using theInstinctual Trauma Response (ITR®) Method, you can address the root cause of your symptoms, find relief, heal old wounds and reclaim your life from the hold of past traumas.

To learn more about your experiences, book a free 15-minute session today.