Trauma

Partial Hospitalization Center & Mental Health located in Burr Ridge, IL

Trauma Services Offered In Burr Ridge, IL

Living through a traumatic experience like an airplane crash or terrorist attack can cause severe psychological damage. Visit the team at EQ Perspectives in Burr Ridge, Illinois, if you experience trauma and can’t move past it. The team’s expertise in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related mental health problems ensures that you receive the highest quality care. Call EQ Perspectives today or schedule a consultation online to free yourself from trauma’s effects.

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Trauma Q&A

What is trauma?

Traumatic experiences are life-changing events that can cause profound, long-lasting psychological harm. Trauma can be anything that causes extreme fear and/or pain or makes you feel that your life is at risk, including:

  • Major auto accidents
  • Personal assaults
  • Natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes)
  • Air and rail crashes
  • Sinking ships
  • Sexual abuse
  • Death of a loved one
  • Participating in combat
  • Living in a war zone
  • Terrorist attacks
  • Severe injuries
  • Witnessing harm to others
  • Torture

Children can suffer trauma if there’s physical violence in the home. Bullying, intolerance, and racism can also be physically and psychologically traumatic.

What effects does trauma have?

Trauma is shocking and intensely distressing. It triggers physical reactions like:

  • Shaking
  • Trouble breathing
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Pounding heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Crying

After experiencing trauma, you’ll likely feel exhausted for days or weeks. You might have trouble sleeping and feel constantly on edge. But in time, you adjust to what happened, and the memory becomes less overwhelming.

Unfortunately, this adjustment doesn’t always happen. Or people believe they’re better, then suffer a relapse. If you’re in this situation, you could have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

For those with PTSD, memories of the traumatic event continue to weigh heavily on their minds. Instead of fading, the memories are so vivid that people struggle to think about anything else.

Trying to ignore your feelings makes PTSD worse. You might also suffer from other mental health conditions, like depression, anxiety, or a substance use disorder, using alcohol or drugs to control your pain.

How might trauma affect my child?

Depending on their age, a child who’s experienced trauma might develop the following symptoms:

  • Stomach and headaches
  • Nightmares
  • Being scared to go to bed
  • Losing interest in activities they usually enjoy
  • Expressing undeserved guilt
  • Talking about revenge
  • Clinginess
  • Being tearful and panicky
  • Tantrums and meltdowns
  • Irritability and anger
  • Bedwetting and thumb-sucking
  • Poor classroom performance
  • Withdrawing from family and friends
  • Out-of-character behaviors

If these problems last more than a month, call EQ Perspectives for expert advice.

What can help ease trauma?

Effective trauma-informed care can involve psychotherapy and medication:

Medication: Antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and antipsychotic medicines can help if you suffer from depression, anxiety, or hallucinations and delusions (seeing, hearing, and/or believing in things that aren’t real).

Counseling: Counseling (psychotherapy/talk therapy) uses various techniques to help patients work through their trauma. These include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

Call EQ Perspectives today or book an appointment online to benefit from high-quality trauma-informed care.