Trauma Awareness and Treatment Center

A Treatment Approach that Fits Many Problems

or A Good Place to Begin with Most Any Problem

Many disorders have much in common.  There is a physical component, and there are emotional, mental, and bio-chemical components.  For some disorders a spiritual component shouldn’t be ignored.  According to research in this field there are differences between how different disorders can be effectively treated, but there are some elements common to most treatments.  In our practical world of trying to help people get on their feet and move forward with their lives, our clinical experience has taught us that motivated clients can often achieve positive outcomes by making use of these common treatment elements.  We will outline those here.  Keep in mind there is a lot of room for individual application and combination of elements to obtain the results you desire.  Experiment!  Life could be looked at as a great experiment, made up of little discoveries day by day, that teach important life lessons for us to learn.  As we change a little here and there, the changes accumulate, and we learn how to master our lives, how to more effectively adapt to the changing circumstances with which we are confronted.  The better we manage and adapt in our lives the happier we are.

Level 1 – Physical  - Emerson taught, “First be a good animal.”  It is true that the better we take care of our bodies, many other aspects of our lives fall in place.  There is a wealth of information out there describing this or that “critical ingredient” to a better physical life.  We will keep this simple and easy to apply.

Aerobic Exercise (jogging, fast walking, swimming, any big muscle activity that elevates the heart rate) for 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week.  There is a great deal of research that demonstrates that regular aerobic/cardio exercise brings about improvement in one’s mental / emotional health (for many disorders) as much or more than medication or psychotherapy by a trained psychotherapist.  (Take a look at the article that list the benefits to regular cardio exercise at this site).

Relaxation   A relaxation response is the opposite of a stressed, tense or anxious response.  Volumes have been written about how to relax.  Consider these simple guidelines.  Slow deep breathing — Breathe in to the count of 5, hold the breath to the count of 5, breathe out to the count of 5.  Tense and relax your muscles.  Do isometric exercises with different muscles, like pressing your palms together. Visualize peaceful, beautiful and relaxing scenes like a secluded beach on an island. Self-Hypnosis is another useful relaxation tool we will discuss in another article (see Hyper-Link for Self-Hypnosis). I suggest you follow this order of Slow Deep Breathing, Tense and Relax Your Muscles, and Visualize.

Sleep is critically important to mental/emotional health.  Loss of sleep undermines functioning and performance. (See article on Sleep Hygiene at this site).  As your ability to function diminishes, your sense of esteem and ability fades, contributing to further diminished functioning.  Stubborn negative cycles can deepen.

Nutrition.  Good nutrition can make a significant difference in bringing emotional stabilization.  Avoid sugar and caffeine. Drink plenty of water.  Eat fruits, grains and vegetables.

Please remember when you most need to apply these physical principles, the least you are likely to do them.  Like when you are having the most stress and the most problems, you have the greatest difficulty doing the physical things that will help you deal more effectively with stress and your problems.  When you feel least like doing these things, you need to do them the most.

What are some changes you want to make in the physical side of your life?

Behavioral    Do Things – “It is easier to act yourself into the correct way of thinking, than to think yourself into the correct way of acting.” -William James.  Schedule a pleasurable activity once before noon and again before you go to sleep.  Take “mini-vacations” throughout the day. Ten to fifteen minutes to renew and refocus yourself.  (See handout at this site “90 Mini-Vacations”)

Women tend to be more depressed than men?  Do you know why?  When women get depressed they tend to think.  When men get depressed they go do things.

Go Back to What Used to Work – We gravitate to activities that we are naturally good at, or which we did more frequently growing up.  Build on skills and activities that you once enjoyed but from which you have drifted. (See handout at this site “Discovering Personal Strengths”)

What are some things you can do to get your Behavioral resources working for you?

How do you know if you need medication?  One way to determine  that is if you are feeling better after you do the Physical Levels for three to  four weeks.  These level increase Serotonin in the brain.  Serotonin is chiefly what anti-depressants give you. It may be that you can’t even get enough  energy or emotional strength to do the Physical Level.  If you  can’t do them, or if you can’t derive benefits from doing  them, consider medication to “jump start your engine.”

Level 2   Emotional/Social     Emotions are difficult to change directly.  We can best change them indirectly by doing those things that impact them in a positive direction.  That is true of the Physical Level described above.  The distinctions between these levels are made for the sake of being able to make clearer directions.  Emotions are often best directed through interpersonal means.

Be Assertive – Assertiveness simply means standing up for your rights, needs and desires, without violating the rights of others.  It increases your sense of control.  It does not mean you have to go around saying everything you think or feel, but it does mean when something is important to you say it, unless it puts you in danger.

Have a Friend Who is a Confidante – It is emotionally healing to ventilate our honest feelings with someone we trust.  Keep it someone same gender or a relative, unless you can be sure you won’t get into situations that will cause you problems, often through compromising situations.  Ideally this confidante is our spouse but this doesn’t always work

Service Many have discovered that as they help others, they lose their preoccupations,

their fears, and their emotional burdens.  A principle taught in the Bible is as you lose yourself in serving others, you find yourself.

What are some social resources you can start using?

Level 3 – Mental

Recognizing Distorted Thinking - (See handout at this site “15 Styles of Distorted Thinking”). These contribute to depression, anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions.  Read each one and rate yourself on a 1 – 10 scale.  If you score 7 or more work on it.  Put several on 3X5 cards and make a tally mark each time you catch yourself thinking that way.  The distorted thoughts will correct themselves automatically for the most part, simply by counting them.  The unrealistic thoughts that remain can be neutralized by arguing against them.

Learn to Let Go  – “For every worry under the sun there is a solution or there is none.  If there be one go and find it.  If there be none, never mind it.” An important life skill is to let go of thoughts, feelings, experiences, people, or anything that weighs us down without us having responsibility for it, or for which we can do nothing.  To let go of something we often have to replace it with something else that is more beneficial.

Level 4 – Spiritual    The Spiritual Level can be related to the mental and emotional discussed above but has enough distinctive characteristics to give it separate treatment.

Live in Harmony with Your Values – Write down your roles in life, such as individual, husband or wife, mother or father, daughter or son, brother or sister, friend, employee, etc.  Next to each role write two values that matter to you.  For example, as an individual it may be important for you to make contact with God each day or serve another, or such.  Live these values and you will have greater spiritual harmony, and probably fewer emotional problems.

Live from Your Center – Go to your heart and learn to trust what you find there.  Find your peace. Find your bliss.   Meditation is useful here.  Center down.  Connect with your Higher Self (See article “Rules for Developing Your Relationship with Your Higher Self” at this site).

Journaling This is a great way to maintain balance with your values, with what matters to you.  There are different forms of journaling.  Many have discovered happiness in a Gratitude Journal.  Other have found some deeper aspects of their self with a Journal of Emotional Expression.  There is also a Learning Journal in which one can record life lessons gleaned from others, experiences, and books read.

Level 5  – Life Orientation

The 3 C’s – make up an orientation to life and others that helps maintain a healthy life philosophy and balance.  The 3-C’s are:   Control (you need to be in control of important areas of your life), Commitment (you need to be committed to a life purpose and others), and Challenge (you need to see life’s problems as a challenge to improve rather than a threat).

Life Purpose & Goals – If our life loses meaning, if we can’t put what we’re doing into a larger picture we can become emotionally imbalanced. Find your purpose and be true to it.  To help you fulfill your purpose set long-term goals and short-term goals to reach them.

The Mental, Spiritual, and Life Orientation levels, in particular, can be enhanced as they become part of developing resilience.   (See handout at this site “Developing Resilience”)