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because insight therapies ask you to think and talk about upsetting
experiences and Cognitive-Behavioral therapies often involve
confronting or re-exposing yourself to disturbing situations. Many
traumatized persons remain fragile for years and easily triggered into
an unpleasant emotional state over which they have little control.
Thus, therapists are cautious and self-helpers must be too.
It is even possible that being capable and successful, being found
attractive, having intense pleasure and a lot of fun, or almost any
experience, even relaxation, can become a "trigger" which arouses
anxiety, guilt, depression, self-criticism, or other negative feeling. In
such cases, fun activities and achievements may need to be increased
gradually. Improving other ordinary activities, such as sleep, exercise,
improve self-esteem and mood. Allen (1995) cautiously suggests that
being in self-control. Serious as reactions to trauma are, they are not
impossible to handle. However, professionals disagree on several
points, especially the degree helpers should probe to uncover
repressed memories and the importance of the victim forgiving the
abuser (see chapter 7). These are difficult decisions. Also, depending
on your symptoms and situation, it may be important to cope with
general anxiety and stress (see the rest of this chapter), shame
(chapter 6), anger (chapter 7), addictions (chapter 4), and other
problems common after a trauma.
The better general Web sites for understanding and coping with
(http://enpsychlopedia.com) and search for Traumatic Stress, David
(http://www.apa.org/practice/traumaticstress.html), Dissociative
Touch Web (http://www.gentletouchsweb.com/) (includes messages,
stories, links for all kinds of survivors), Traumatic Stress Studies
(http://www.mental-health-matters.com/), MHN-Trauma
Psychology (http://www.inpsyte.ca/) (about childhood sexual abuse)
and Bully Online (http://www.bullyonline.org/stress/ptsd.htm). Other
have good articles on several kinds of trauma: 9/11/01, homicides,
