Experiencing trauma can leave lasting emotional scars on your mind, body, and spirit. Whether you’ve gone through a one-time event or a prolonged traumatic situation, the aftermath of trauma can make you feel hopeless. Here is what trauma is and how to take the first steps to healing.
Understanding Trauma
Trauma happens when an experience makes you feel unsafe, helpless, or out of control. These experiences can include accidents, abuse, loss, natural disasters, or other life-altering events. Trauma affects people differently — what feels overwhelming to one person might not have the same impact on someone else.
Trauma can manifest in several ways:
Mental health issues like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Emotional numbness
Intrusive thoughts or flashbacks
Difficulty concentrating
Memory issues
Physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, or tension
Your path to healing might not be linear, but that’s okay. It’s possible to recover from the effects of trauma with the right tools and support.
Acknowledge Your Reality
The first step in healing is recognizing the impact of trauma on your life. Suppressing your feelings or pretending to be “okay” can delay your recovery. It’s important to honor and accept your emotions and what happened to you. Allow your feelings to exist, no matter what they are. There’s no wrong way to feel after trauma.
Prioritize Your Safety
After trauma, you might have a hard time feeling safe again. This is especially true if you experienced repeated traumas, like in an abusive relationship. Begin by creating a safe physical and emotional space for yourself. This could mean setting boundaries, limiting exposure to triggering environments, or practicing routines that make you feel most comfortable and bring you the most joy. Sometimes, to feel safe again you have to remove yourself from harmful situations or relationships. It’s okay to take steps to protect yourself — even if it feels uncomfortable at first.
Reconnect with Your Body
Trauma can force a disconnection between your mind and your body. To cope with your traumatic experience, you may have gone completely numb or dissociated. Consider practices that connect you to your body like:
Yoga or tai chi
Deep breathing techniques
Light physical activity, like walking or jogging
It’s important to pay attention to your body’s signals. If a practice feels triggering, stop and choose something more soothing.
Reconnect with Others
Trauma has a way of making you feel isolated. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you trust. Share your feelings if a person is emotionally available to listen. If you struggle to open up, start small. Even spending time in the presence of others without talking about your trauma can be comforting. Without a social safety net, healing can be more difficult.
Be Compassionate to Yourself
Healing takes time, and it’s important to be patient with yourself throughout the process. Negative self-talk or blaming yourself for the trauma will make it harder to heal. Instead, practice self-compassion by:
Speaking to yourself as you would to a dear friend
Celebrating small victories, like getting out of bed or reaching out for help
Acknowledging that healing is non-linear and setbacks are normal
Create New Meaning in Your Identity
Trauma can make it hard to find meaning in your life again. As you heal, consider exploring activities or practices that make you feel fulfilled. These can include:
Pursuing hobbies or creative outlets like painting or writing
Volunteering for causes that resonate with you
Exploring spiritual practices or mindfulness techniques
Talk to a Mental Health Professional
While it’s important to start the healing process on your own, some wounds run too deep to confront yourself. Consider a trauma-focused approach to therapy, like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), narrative therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), or another that fits your needs. To learn about which trauma treatment approach is right for you to heal from the aftereffects of trauma, schedule a consultation with us today.
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