Are you someone who tends to be very apprehensive about change? Are you daunted often by the unfamiliar? If you answered yes to either of these two questions though then I urge you to read on.
We Live With the Unfamiliar
The pace of change in our world has never been greater than it is today. From the advent of technology and it’s continually accelerating progression to the ever-growing problem of the world climate, we are besieged by the increasingly unfamiliar. Is it any wonder that people get apprehensive about this?
Living in the Age of Dysregulation
Add to all the increasing pace of change the experience of how many people have to deal increasingly with a state of emotional dysregulation as one noted authority on the subject put it recently, and you have a double whammy of potential emotional upset within yourself and others at any given time.
Trauma Only Worsens the Experience
If you suffer from some degree of trauma, then an already heightened emotional state along with increasing rates of change and unfamiliarity can wreak emotional havoc on your nervous system! This is happening to increasing numbers of people these days, and having some degree of trauma in your background that only serves to worsen the experience. It can serve to strengthen the confirmation bias in your judgment because of the trauma that we must live in a dangerous world, as opposed to a neutral or safe world where dangerous things sometimes happen.
How Trauma Makes the Unfamiliar Seem Scary
If you have previous trauma, then when you go into unfamiliar situations the tendency is to paint a scary or grim picture of what that landscape looks like. It may actually seem quite neutral or positive to someone who doesn’t suffer from trauma, but you will literally tend to paint a dark or scary picture of the environment because of your previous trauma.
How Trauma Gets Perpetuated
Because of your traumatic experiences in the past, then the present and future can tend to have a template of negativity put on them. It’s almost as if you are hallucinating and visualizing something more negative or scary than is actually happening because of the past trauma. It’s like when a child who is afraid of the dark thinks they can see monsters lurking around when there’s actually nothing there.
How to Cope with Trauma in Unfamiliar Situations
It can’t help to some extent to remind yourself that the situation will probably seem darker or scarier than it actually is because of your previous trauma. There are also other forms of coping, including deep breathing and mindfulness techniques that can help you to settle down your nervous system. If the trauma was significant, then it can be important to get trauma therapy to help take the negativity or fearfulness out of the present and future.
What If You Need Help for Your Trauma
Increasing numbers of people suffer from trauma in our present day situation. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to help to neutralize the effects of past trauma. There are a number of gifted therapists that utilize EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) along with other effective trauma therapies. I utilize EMDR and Image Transformation Therapy (ImTT) that have helped many people recover. I encourage you to contact me or someone else to get help if the above or other coping methods do not seem to be helpful for you in your situation. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to get the help you need to recover.
Written by Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW – C
Visit our page on trauma therapy to find out how Scott can help you with fear of unfamiliar situations.
