When something bad happens, the event along with the associated memories and or pain gets frozen in time in our brain and body. What happens next? We are easily startled, super aware of our surroundings, maybe have nightmares, parts of the event can flash before our minds eye, falling asleep is hard, irritability occurs, and we start to avoid things, forget things, and feel out of sorts.  PTSD is not just a military problem it is a social problem.  When PTSD goes unresolved, it can morph into depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

If you are lacking energy, can’t seem to get motivated, your self-esteem is low, you feel guilty a lot, or helpless/hopeless/worthless, are sleeping a lot, don’t have much of an appetite or are eating a lot, and you don’t enjoy doing things you used to do, and the memories you recollect from your past are all negative, you could be depressed.

If you worry a lot about driving, safety, family, health, or finances to the point of losing sleep, feeling keyed up or on edge, you can’t focus, feel restless, get scared, and you can’t learn or remember new information; you could be suffering from anxiety.

There are three different categories of TBIs: mild (most concussions), moderate and severe (have to relearn to walk, talk, feed self, memory resets, impulsivity, etc). I developed a way to use EMDR therapy that will work with the majority of mild to moderate TBIs. If your head was hit/struck in any number of ways or activities and you: get frequent headaches, feel worried or down, your grades have dropped, you can’t focus or remember what you just read, your energy level is low and you don’t feel rested after you slept, you are getting lost easily in familiar places, you seem to be clumsy and bump into things or misjudge depth; you could be suffering from a TBI.

A phobia is something that you are so fearful of doing you avoid it like the plague. The most common phobias are: driving, dentists, heights, bugs/insects, clowns, blood, needles, small spaces, flying, snakes, mice, and public speaking.  If you sweat, your mind goes blank, you would rather run away or avoid, your heart beats fast, you swallow frequently or you are frozen and can’t move; you could have a phobia.