Carolyn C Martin MS LPC CCTP
Austin Trauma and
Relationship Psychotherapist
Serving Austin over 30 Years
Trauma
You're Not Alone
What is trauma and why you might not know you have it?
Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms your ability to cope. Trauma affects your mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health and can make it difficult to live your life as you did before the trauma came into your life. Trauma can be a one-time event or a prolonged series of events.
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It's quite common for people to initially seek therapy for issues like anxiety, stress, depression or relationship problems, only to discover that underlying trauma is driving those symptoms. Many people aren't aware that their past experiences--such as childhood neglect, emotional abuse, loss, or infidelity--can have a lasting impact. These traumas can manifest as symptoms, emotional or physical, which people may attribute to stress or general life challenges.
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The effects can show up in unexpected ways. Many people believe trauma only stems from extreme events, like natural disasters or combat, but it can also come from emotional wounds, loss, or betrayal. Some symptoms, like anxiety, irritability or trouble sleep might be dismissed as stress, but they can be indicators of deeper issues. Since the brain is designed to protect us, it sometimes hides these emotional injuries, making it hard for people to see how much they've been impacted until they begin to explore the underlying causes.
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By acknowledging that trauma can be more subtle or masked, people might start to connect their emotional struggles with past experiences they didn't consider traumatic.
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Different causes of Trauma
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First Responder Events
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Sexual Assault or Abuse
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Intimate Partner Violence/Domestic Violence
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Financial Uncertainty
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Childhood Abuse and/or Neglect
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Natural Disasters
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Food Insecurity
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Sudden & Unexpected Death of a Loved One
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Homelessness Community Violence
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Medical/Health-Related Trauma
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Terroristic Attacks
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Military Combat
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What does trauma look like or sound like?
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"I can't relax. I'm tense all the time."
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"Suddenly something triggers me, and I relive the event."
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"I can't sleep and when I do I have terrible dreams about what happened."
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"I don't trust anybody anymore. I'm afraid of everyone I meet. I just want to stay in my house and never come out"
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"I can't stop thinking about what I did. It's all my fault."
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"I should have run away. I knew something wasn't right, but I did want to make him mad."
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"I can't focus at work. I'm distracted and can't sit still."
Some of these symptoms include:
Psychological + Emotional
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Anxiety, fear, and panic attacks
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Depression and feelings of hopelessness
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Shock, denial, or disbelief
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Confusion, difficulty concentrating
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Mood swings, anger, and irritability
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Shame, guilt, and self-blame
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Hypervigilance and being on edge
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Feelings of numbness or dissociation
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Social isolation and relational issues
Physical symptoms
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Difficulty sleeping or nightmares
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Difficulty concentrating on tasks
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Feeling overly tired and easily fatigued
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Heightened startle response
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Racing heartbeat or heart palpitations
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Bodily aches and pains
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Muscle tension
Has Your Life Been Turned Upside Down?
Trauma & difficult life issues can spin your life out of control.
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Have you been cheated on? Does this betrayal feel as if you've experienced a death?
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Or have you actually experienced the death of a loved one? Are you trying to make sense of what's happened?
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Or has your worst nightmare come true? You were sexually assaulted and just can't pretend any longer how much pain you're in?
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Or as a couple have you reached a breaking point. The relationship just isn't working?
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Or are you feeling hopeless and want to give up on life? Are stress or edginess causing you sleeplessness and lack of focus.
Trauma and Relationships
Trauma and relationship problems often go hand in hand, creating a complex dynamic that can affect how we connect with others. Traumatic experiences, such as emotional abuse, physical violence, betrayal, or even the loss of a loved one, can profoundly impact our ability to trust and feel safe in relationships. Understanding the correlation between trauma and relationship difficulties is key to healing and improving the quality of your interactions with others.
When we experience trauma, especially in formative years, it leaves an imprint on our emotional and psychological wellbeing. Our brain’s response to trauma is to protect us from further harm, but these protective mechanisms can sometimes interfere with how we relate to others. For example, after trauma, our nervous system might become hyper-alert, causing us to misinterpret harmless situations as threats. This heightened sense of danger can make us overly sensitive, withdrawn, or reactive in our relationships.
Trauma can also lead to attachment issues. For those who have experienced emotional neglect, abandonment, or betrayal, trusting others can feel impossible. Intimacy may trigger anxiety, and vulnerability may be seen as dangerous. You might find yourself sabotaging relationships because getting close to someone feels too risky, or you might cling to unhealthy connections because they mirror past traumas, leaving you trapped in a cycle of pain.
At its core, trauma can distort the way we view ourselves and others. People who have been traumatized may internalize feelings of shame, guilt, or worthlessness, making it hard to believe they are worthy of love and connection. This internal dialogue often reflects outwardly, leading to conflicts with partners, friends, or family. You may project your past pain onto present relationships, interpreting your partner's behavior through the lens of old wounds rather than the reality of the current situation.
Additionally, trauma can erode communication in relationships. When you're carrying the weight of unhealed trauma, it becomes difficult to express your needs, desires, and boundaries. You may struggle to find the words to articulate how you're feeling, or you might avoid tough conversations for fear of conflict. Over time, this lack of communication fosters misunderstanding, resentment, and emotional distance.
Healing from trauma, therefore, becomes essential not only for your well-being but for the health of your relationships. Through therapeutic approaches like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and trauma-focused therapy, you can begin to understand the impact of your trauma and learn new ways to engage with others. Therapy can help you recognize triggers, manage emotional responses, and rebuild trust. It allows you to process the unresolved pain of the past, freeing you from the patterns that have been keeping you stuck.
Working through trauma isn’t easy, but it is possible. As you heal, you’ll begin to notice improvements in your ability to form and maintain healthy relationships. You’ll develop greater emotional resilience and feel more confident in your ability to communicate and connect with others. Relationships can be a source of joy, support, and healing rather than pain and conflict, and addressing trauma is the first step toward achieving that.
By addressing trauma in therapy, you can break the cycles that have held you back and start building relationships based on trust, mutual respect, and understanding. Your relationships don’t have to be defined by your past traumas. With the right support, you can heal and create the meaningful, loving connections you deserve.
Trauma and Work
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Trauma can have a profound impact on your life, affecting not only your personal well-being but also your professional life. Many people who have experienced trauma struggle with difficulties at work, often without fully realizing how their past experiences influence their day-to-day tasks, interactions, and overall performance. Whether you’ve been through a single traumatic event or multiple, understanding the effects of trauma on your work life is crucial for both your healing process and your career success. This guide will explore the ways trauma may affect your job, the signs to look out for, and how you can begin addressing these challenges.
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What is Trauma?
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Trauma is an emotional response to an intense or distressing event that overwhelms your ability to cope. Traumatic experiences can vary widely and include incidents such as physical or sexual assault, the sudden loss of a loved one, witnessing violence, surviving natural disasters, childhood abuse, or any event that leaves a lasting emotional scar. The brain and body react to these experiences in ways that may disrupt your sense of safety, trust, and well-being. These disruptions can affect every area of life, including your work.
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How Trauma Affects the Brain and Body
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Before diving into how trauma can influence your work, it’s helpful to understand how trauma impacts the brain and body. Trauma alters the brain's response to stress, particularly in areas responsible for emotions, memory, and executive function.
Key parts of the brain, such as the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus, may react differently after trauma. The amygdala, which handles emotions and fear responses, can become overactive, making you more prone to anxiety and hypervigilance. The prefrontal cortex, which regulates decision-making and impulse control, may struggle to operate effectively, leading to issues with concentration and problem-solving. The hippocampus, responsible for memory, can become impaired, making it harder to remember details accurately or differentiate between past traumatic events and present reality.
These changes affect not only your emotional health but also your ability to function well in a work environment.
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Common Effects of Trauma in the Workplace
1. Difficulty Concentrating
One of the most common effects of trauma is difficulty concentrating. If you've experienced trauma, you may find it hard to focus on tasks for extended periods, leading to mistakes or incomplete work. Your mind might wander frequently to distressing memories or fears of something bad happening again. You may find yourself zoning out during meetings or feeling overwhelmed by even simple tasks because your brain is preoccupied with the trauma.
2. Increased Anxiety and Stress
Workplace stress is a common challenge, but trauma can amplify it. The stress of deadlines, difficult coworkers, or high expectations may trigger a heightened anxiety response. Even routine challenges can feel insurmountable. You may experience panic attacks, a racing heart, or a constant feeling of being on edge. The fear of failure or making mistakes could be rooted in past experiences, making it difficult to approach tasks with a calm, problem-solving mindset.
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3. Emotional Dysregulation
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Emotional regulation can be difficult for trauma survivors. At work, you might find yourself overreacting to situations that don’t warrant such strong responses, such as feeling disproportionately angry or anxious about a project not going as planned. Alternatively, you might suppress emotions, becoming detached and unresponsive in stressful situations. Either extreme can make it hard to maintain professional relationships with colleagues or managers.
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4. Low Motivation and Fatigue
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Trauma often results in a lack of motivation or energy, which can spill over into your work life. You might feel disconnected from your tasks, finding it hard to care about projects or goals. If your trauma is related to burnout or overwork, returning to a professional environment may feel especially daunting. Chronic fatigue, another symptom of trauma, can make it difficult to get through the day, leading to absenteeism or presenteeism, where you’re physically present but not mentally engaged.
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5. Perfectionism and Overwork
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On the flip side, some trauma survivors cope by becoming hypervigilant and overworking themselves. You might feel that nothing is ever good enough or that you need to prove yourself constantly, driven by a fear of failure or criticism. This perfectionism can lead to working long hours, taking on too many projects, and burning out. Over time, this pattern can exacerbate your stress and reinforce a cycle of anxiety.
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6. Impaired Decision-Making
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Trauma can hinder your ability to make decisions. When trauma affects your prefrontal cortex, you may struggle with problem-solving, setting priorities, or even making simple choices. You might feel paralyzed by indecision or fear making the wrong choice, which can slow down productivity and make it harder to meet deadlines or collaborate effectively with your team.
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7. Hypervigilance
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Hypervigilance is a state of being excessively aware of your surroundings, which is a common response to trauma. In the workplace, this might translate to an overwhelming sense of needing to monitor everything around you, whether it's worrying about how colleagues perceive you or being overly cautious in your interactions. This state of constant alertness can be exhausting and lead to mistakes because your focus is divided.
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8. Trust and Relationship Issues
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Many forms of trauma, particularly those involving betrayal (e.g., infidelity, workplace harassment, or childhood abuse), can make it difficult to trust others. At work, this can manifest as difficulty forming relationships with coworkers, fear of being judged, or feeling like you can't rely on anyone. You might find it hard to delegate tasks or collaborate because you're unsure whether others will follow through. You may also have difficulty accepting feedback, viewing it as a personal attack rather than constructive guidance.
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9. Avoidance of Certain Tasks or Situations
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Trauma often leads to avoidance behaviors, where you steer clear of anything that reminds you of the traumatic event. In the workplace, this might mean avoiding certain tasks, meetings, or even people. You might turn down opportunities for advancement because they feel overwhelming or bring up feelings of fear and inadequacy. Over time, this avoidance can stunt your professional growth.
How to Address Trauma in the Workplace
Acknowledging that trauma may be affecting your work is a significant first step toward healing. Once you recognize the impact, there are various ways to manage it effectively:
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1. Seek Professional Help
2. Mindfulness and Stress Management Techniques
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3. Set Realistic Goals
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4. Establish Boundaries
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5. Create a Supportive Environment
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6. Build a Routine
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7. Practice Self-Compassion
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Final Thoughts
Trauma can deeply affect your ability to function in the workplace, but it doesn’t have to define your career or limit your potential. By understanding the ways trauma impacts your work life and taking steps to address these challenges, you can create a healthier, more fulfilling professional experience. Healing from trauma is a journey, but with the right support and tools, you can navigate your way back to both personal and professional success.
If you're struggling with the effects of trauma at work, it may be time to reach out to a mental health professional who can guide you through the process of recovery. Remember, you're not alone—many people face similar challenges, and there are resources available to help you thrive both inside and outside the workplace.
4o
Therapy and Counseling in Austin
Individual Therapy
Couples Counseling
Change Can Be Hard
The struggle in the dark, lonely cocoon transforms the caterpillar and gives it the strength to emerge and take flight. Transformation is our human destiny, our crucible that leads us to new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. With these changes, like the butterfly, we are we gain our freedom.
Experienced Austin-Based Psychotherapist Specializing in Trauma and Relationships
Carolyn C. Martin MS, LPC, CCTP
Licensed Professional Counselor
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
Certified Gottman Educator
Certified Cinematherapist
Carolyn has 30+ years experience working with individuals and couples
My Approach To Therapy
Carolyn C. Martin MS, LPC, CCTP - Therapy and Counseling in Austin, Tx
My first task as a therapist is to establish trust with my clients. Once we have a solid foundation we can work together to discover better ways of dealing with life.
My approach to therapy is compassionate, reassuring and solution oriented. Sessions are in-person only.
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Types Of Therapy I Use:
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Cognitive behavioral therapy
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Psychodynamic therapy
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Existential therapy
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Behavioral therapy
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Family systems therapy
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Gottman therapy
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Fees
Individual $150
Couples $200
Cash, Check, Credit Cards
I don't take insurance; however I can provide you with a superbill to submit to your insurance company
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All sessions are in-person in my office at
5808 Balcones, Suite 101
Austin, Tx 78731
Hours
Monday to Friday
Noon to 10:00
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