Allyson Clemmons, LICSW

Your body keeps acting like you're still in danger, even though the bad thing already ended. Maybe you jump when doors slam. Can't sleep without checking the locks three times. Feel your heart pound when you smell certain cologne or hear that song. It's like your internal alarm system got stuck in the "on" position, screaming “danger!” at safe things while your logical brain knows you're okay. You might see the event playing like a movie you can't turn off, or feel nothing at all, like you're watching life through foggy glass.

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Finding out about an affair feels like discovering your whole life was built on quicksand. You play detective with their phone at 3 AM, even though you hate who you've become. Every "working late" text makes your stomach drop. You see them with that person in your mind, over and over, like a Netflix show you can't stop watching. Trust feels impossible; not just with them, but with yourself. How did you not see it? You question every memory, wondering what was real and what was performance. It's grief, but worse, because the person you'd normally turn to for comfort is the one who caused the pain.

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You became a nurse or doctor to help people. Now you dread walking into the hospital. You've held too many hands of dying patients, made too many impossible decisions with too few resources. Their faces follow you home. You dream about code blues and beeping monitors. That patient who didn't make it? You still wonder if you could've done something different. You've used up all your compassion at work and have nothing left for your own family. You cry in your car after shifts or feel absolutely nothing at all. The hero everyone calls you feels like a costume you can't take off.

More about healthcare worker burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue here.

That first drink quiets the noise in your head. Those pills make you stop feeling like your skin's on too tight. For a few hours, you're not drowning in memories or anxiety or rage. But now you need three drinks to feel what one used to do. You promise yourself "never again" every Sunday, but Tuesday comes and your hands shake, your thoughts race, and the only thing that helps is the thing that's destroying you. Your brain found a solution to unbearable pain. It's just that this solution is killing you faster than the pain was.

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Resolve trauma from car accidents, workplace injuries, surgical errors, and medical malpractice in 1-5 sessions. Whether you’re avoiding driving, can’t tolerate medical settings, or you’re reliving the incident constantly, the trauma can be reprocessed so that it’s not triggering you. You can return to work, get medical care you need, and make decisions without fear controlling every choice.

Learn more about PTSD treatment for accidents, injuries, and medical complications here.