What happens when trauma is re-triggered?

However, trauma doesn’t work that way.

It isn’t linear.

Many army veterans return home healthy but develop trauma symptoms, like nightmares and anxiety, years later.

Similarly, many parents return home after a difficult birth experience and recover well only to find that their trauma is re-triggered when they are pregnant again.

Working with a diverse range of parents through the CIC, The Birth Republic, I have had the privilege of supporting many women whose children have long term health issues.

When babies are sick and then continue to experience ongoing problems with their health then treating trauma is challenging because, in a sense, the threat of danger hasn’t left.

And often previous trauma is re-triggered when another health event happens.

The question is then ‘how do we best support parents who are constantly living with the threat of their children becoming poorly again, sometimes fatally so?’

There is still a place for using a trauma specific therapy (TBR 3 Steps or EMDR for example) to clear past memories that are holding much fear and anxiety but there is much more to also do too.

Approaches vary from individual to individual but will usually include:

·      Resources gathering

·      Solution focused approaches

·      Boundary strengthening

·      Anchoring relaxation and grounding

·      Future orientation work

Sadly, many parents with sick children receive no specialist support with perinatal trauma through traditional NHS pathways.

Left alone to cope with managing their child’s health needs and the anxiety that comes with that is ALOT and over time parents are more vulnerable to depression, anxiety and other more serious mental health problems.

If you know a parent who needs support we have secured our second year of funding to provide free access to specialist perinatal therapy for those who need it. Please share our website with them.

If you would like to train with TBR School and join our CIC or even start your own then check out our diploma course here.