How to overcome medical trauma

M.medical trauma Defined as the psychological or physiological response to a traumatic experience in a medical setting.Several Reasons why people develop medical trauma include going through frightening or painful experiences such as: complicated birth or major illness; experiencing medical malpractice such as a failed surgery or harmful treatment;or being dismissed or disrespected while seeking medical care Care.

“Any kind of medical procedure can be traumatic if you don’t know what’s going on,” he said. Melissa Goldberg Mintzpsychologist and book author Is Your Child Traumatized?: What You Need to Know and Do to Promote Healing and Recovery. “Pain can be a big factor. It can be really scary.”

Goldberg-Mintz has seen many people who suffered medical trauma because of complicated births and children who suffered medical trauma because they didn’t know what was going on. When they are very young we try to explain and prepare them as best we can, but when they are small it can be difficult to understand.

Trauma can occur after adverse events

Trauma can occur after adverse events“Things can happen very quickly and can be scary and painful,” Goldberg-Mintz said. It’s terrifying. However, while trauma can occur after such an event, it’s not always the case.

Instead, in the first few weeks after the event,s It’s normal to have a wide range of emotions about what happened. fear, sorrow, Or anger. “Early on, the most I hear is that it feels very surreal, but not in a good way.” Thrive Works. “very clear”before and after An event that essentially changed lives forever.

Weeks after what happened, often A time when both the body and brain adjust. “It may need to be addressed a little bit over time,” Kowalski said. “Your brain has this wonderful coping method to push it away a little bit. Your body may be going through it, it may be crying or shivering, but it’s the reality of the situation.” Little by little it starts to seep in. It’s a very early stage and really needs to be addressed.”

The problem is when these feelings persist and begin to interfere with a fulfilling life. “You’ll want to get the help you need at that point, otherwise you’ll keep ruminating about it, stuck in the moment, and not always being able to process what happened,” Kowalski said.

Avoidance is part of the trauma response

Part of the trauma response is avoidance. “It’s your body’s natural reaction to want to keep you safe.said Goldberg-Mintz.In the context of medical trauma, this can be complicated because, while avoiding regular preventive care, going to the doctor is not a routine occurrence. May have long-term adverse effects“It’s much easier to avoid medical situations,” says Goldberg-Mintz.

As for avoidance, the main strategy for dealing with such Fears are graduated exposure therapy, one gradually finds a way to face them Fear in controlled settings.

“They need to feel challenged, but they also need to be safe,” Kowalski said. It can take the form of making telemedicine appointments. Other strategies include talking about different scenarios that can occur at the clinic Come up with coping strategies, such as practicing deep breathing while taking shots.

It also helps you recruit trusted family and friends Someone who can navigate these situations. “If something scares you or goes wrong, you can be more objective in the situation and be the person who can advocate for you,” Goldberg-Mintz said.

when to seek treatment

People who have had a medical trauma may find it helpful to talk about it. For some people, just talking to a trusted family member or friend is enough.WhatOr others may need to seek professional help. “When it starts to seriously affect your life, that’s when you really qualify for PTSD,” Goldberg-Mintz said.

In terms of treatment, some of the more common types for treating PTSD include graded exposure therapy, EMDR, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Graduated exposure therapy It works by exposing a person to trauma triggers in a safe and controlled environment.When EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)“They found that when we move our eyes in certain ways, the brain can apply a different way of thinking about trauma memories,” Kowalski said. cognitive behavioral therapy Help people process and reframe their experiences. “It’s a matter of finding the right way to deal with and process what happened,” Kowalski said.