When the Past Won't Stay Put

Working gently with trauma

June is PTSD Awareness Month, and the 27th marks PTSD Awareness Day — so it feels like the right moment to talk about something that's often carried quietly, sometimes for years.

When we hear "PTSD," many of us picture soldiers, or one single, catastrophic event. That picture is true, but it's far from the whole story. Trauma can grow from a car accident or an assault — and equally from things that never make headlines: a frightening childhood, a bereavement, a difficult birth, an abusive relationship, or the slow weight of never having felt safe. If something overwhelmed you, and your mind and body haven't been able to put it down, that counts. You don't have to justify it, or measure it against anyone else's.

What it can feel like

Trauma rarely announces itself politely. It can show up as flashbacks or nightmares, but just as often as something harder to name — being permanently on edge, feeling numb or somewhere far away, struggling to sleep, snapping at the people you love, or quietly avoiding the places and feelings that might set it off. Many clients tell me they feel "broken," or that they should be "over it by now." You are not broken. These are normal responses to abnormal experiences — your system doing exactly what it learned to do to protect you.

How I work with trauma

My approach is person-centred and trauma-informed, and the most important word is safe. We will never go faster than you want to. There's no requirement to relive every detail or retell the whole story to "get it out" — that's a myth, and pushed too soon it can do more harm than good. Sometimes the work begins simply by learning that this room, this hour, is a place where nothing bad is going to happen.

From that foundation, we move at your pace. We might spend time helping you feel steadier in the present before we ever look back — noticing what grounds you, what settles your breathing, what tells your body it's allowed to rest. Bit by bit, what once felt unspeakable can become something you're able to look at, share, and slowly set down.

You are the expert on you

I won't tell you what your experience means, or how you "should" feel about it. You lead; I walk alongside. My job is to offer a confidential, unhurried, judgement-free space — in my annexe overlooking the South Downs, or online wherever you are — and to be steady company while you find your own way through.

A gentle invitation

If any of this is quietly true for you, please know that support exists, and that healing is possible — not by forgetting, but by no longer having to carry it alone.

If you'd like to talk, my free 20-minute introductory call is a no-pressure place to start. You can reach me here.

If things ever feel unsafe or overwhelming, you don't have to wait — you can contact your GP, or call the Samaritans free, any time, on 116 123.