Identifying Your "Stuck Points": The First Step to Overcoming Trauma

jenniferblume0120
Jul 14
3 min read

If you have ever been through a traumatic event, you might notice that your mind feels different afterward. It’s as if a lens has been placed over your eyes, shifting how you view yourself, the people around you, and the safety of the world.

In Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)—a specialized treatment for PTSD offered at TESS Counseling—we refer to these deeply ingrained, trauma-driven thoughts as "stuck points." Understanding what stuck points are and how they operate is often the very first breakthrough on the path to healing.

What Exactly is a "Stuck Point" in Trauma Treatment?

A stuck point is an unhelpful, rigid belief formed in the aftermath of trauma. When a traumatic event occurs, it shatters our baseline understanding of how the world works. In an attempt to make sense of the chaos and protect you from future harm, your brain tries to find an explanation.

Unfortunately, the brain often lands on conclusions that are inaccurate, harsh, or deeply unfair to you. These thoughts get "stuck," looping continuously in your subconscious and generating intense emotions like anxiety, guilt, anger, or shame.

Common Examples of Stuck Points

Stuck points usually fall into one of five core categories: Safety, Trust, Control, Esteem, or Intimacy. Here is how they often sound in day-to-day life:

The Fault Loop: "If I had just done something differently, it wouldn’t have happened. It is entirely my fault."
The Danger Loop: "No place is safe. If I let my guard down for even a second, something terrible will happen."
The Trust Loop: "People are inherently malicious. If I trust someone, they will eventually hurt or betray me."
The Worth Loop: "Because this happened to me, I am damaged goods, broken, or unlovable."
The Control Loop: "I can never let anyone else make decisions. I have to control every variable to stay safe."

Do any of these resonate with you? If they do, it is important to know that these thoughts are not facts. They are symptoms of trauma.

Why Do Stuck Points Keep Us Trapped?

Stuck points act like a protective shield that accidentally became a prison. If you believe everyone is dangerous, your brain thinks it's keeping you safe by forcing you to isolate. But in reality, it prevents you from experiencing meaningful connections, joy, and peace.

Because these thoughts feel so real, we rarely stop to question them. We treat them as absolute truths, which keeps our nervous system stuck in a state of perpetual high alert (hypervigilance).

How CPT at TESS Counseling Helps You "Unstick"

The beauty of Cognitive Processing Therapy is that it doesn’t ask you to just "think positive." Instead, it gives you concrete, objective tools to examine these beliefs.

When you work with a CPT therapist at TESS Counseling, you will learn to:

Catch the Thought: Notice when a stuck point is driving your emotional reactions.
Examine the Evidence: Look at the thought like a judge in a courtroom. What facts actually support it? What facts contradict it?
Find the Nuance: Trauma forces us into "all-or-nothing" thinking (e.g., all people are bad, nowhere is safe). We help you find the gray area (e.g., some people are unsafe, but many are trustworthy; that situation was dangerous, but I am safe right now).

By gently dismantling these stuck points, you take away the fuel that keeps PTSD alive.

Let’s Rewire the Narrative Together

Acknowledging your stuck points can feel intimidating, but you don't have to do it alone. At TESS Counseling, our therapists provide a compassionate, structured space—either through telehealth or at our Oklahoma offices—to help you process your past and reclaim your present.

You deserve a life that is defined by who you are, not by what happened to you.

Ready to break free from your stuck points? Contact TESS Counseling today to learn more about our trauma and PTSD services.