Have you been betrayed by your significant other? What you are experiencing is a relational trauma. An attachment injury from the most important adult relationship you have. The trauma model for partners of sex addicts exsist because of the psychological and psysiological impact on your mind, body,and spirit. The symptoms below will vary from person to person and depending on your personal history. Dr. Barbara Steffens discovered in her research on the effect of partners of sex addicts that 70% developed symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after dscovery.
PTSD can cause many symptoms. These symptoms can be grouped
into three categories:
1. Re-experiencing symptoms:
Re-experiencing symptoms may cause problems in a person’s everyday routine. They can start from the person’s own thoughts and feelings. Words, objects, or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experienci
2. Avoidance symptoms:
Things that remind a person of the traumatic event can trigger avoidance symptoms. These symptoms may cause a person to change his or her personal routine. For example, after a bad car accident, a person who usually drives may avoid driving or riding in a car.
3. Hyperarousal symptoms:
Hyperarousal symptoms are usually constant, instead of being triggered by things that remind one of the traumatic event. They can make the person feel stressed and angry. These symptoms may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating. It’s natural to have some of these symptoms after a dangerous event.Sometimes people have very serious symptoms that go away after a few weeks. This is called acute stress disorder, or ASD. When the symptoms last more than a few weeks and become an ongoing problem, they might be PTSD. Some people with PTSD don’t show any symptoms for weeks or months (National Institute of Mental Health).
If any of these symptoms resonate with you, please join me and others as a resource for telling your story, and validation of what your expeience has been. I have written a workbook that facilitates experiential excercises and intergrates mind, body and spirit. I will be implementing some of the assignments on a weekly basis, along with other sources that can be a part of your healing journey. Please join me, and I invite your comments as a way of helping others from what you have learned and want to know from partners that are in the process of healing and recovering. -francoise-
PTSD can cause many symptoms. These symptoms can be grouped
into three categories:
1. Re-experiencing symptoms:
Re-experiencing symptoms may cause problems in a person’s everyday routine. They can start from the person’s own thoughts and feelings. Words, objects, or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experienci
2. Avoidance symptoms:
Things that remind a person of the traumatic event can trigger avoidance symptoms. These symptoms may cause a person to change his or her personal routine. For example, after a bad car accident, a person who usually drives may avoid driving or riding in a car.
3. Hyperarousal symptoms:
Hyperarousal symptoms are usually constant, instead of being triggered by things that remind one of the traumatic event. They can make the person feel stressed and angry. These symptoms may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating. It’s natural to have some of these symptoms after a dangerous event.Sometimes people have very serious symptoms that go away after a few weeks. This is called acute stress disorder, or ASD. When the symptoms last more than a few weeks and become an ongoing problem, they might be PTSD. Some people with PTSD don’t show any symptoms for weeks or months (National Institute of Mental Health).
If any of these symptoms resonate with you, please join me and others as a resource for telling your story, and validation of what your expeience has been. I have written a workbook that facilitates experiential excercises and intergrates mind, body and spirit. I will be implementing some of the assignments on a weekly basis, along with other sources that can be a part of your healing journey. Please join me, and I invite your comments as a way of helping others from what you have learned and want to know from partners that are in the process of healing and recovering. -francoise-