There are lots of people who are victims of terrible events like rape, accident, or natural disasters. These experiences can be awful and frightening and, more often than not, they have a significant impact on victims, like trauma.
What is Trauma?
Trauma is an emotional response to an extremely terrible event. It’s also a psychological response of the brain to terrifying events. Trauma can be so severe that it can interfere with a person’s ability to live a normal life. However, people’s reactions to things are different.
If trauma is left unattended to, it can culminate into mental health disorders, such as major depressive disorder (or clinical depression), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brief psychotic disorder, et cetera.
Causes of Trauma
Negative events cause trauma, leaving a lasting impact on the victim’s mental and emotional stability. Examples of these events include:
- The death of a loved one
- Witnessing an act of violence
- Domestic violence
- Rape
- Natural disasters
- Injury
- Terrorism
- War
Symptoms of Trauma
Trauma often manifests physically as well as emotionally. Here are common symptoms of trauma:
- Anxiety
- Incessant fear and sadness
- Withdrawing from others
- Feelings of guilt and shame
- Difficulty concentrating
- Depression and hopelessness
- Memory loss
- Denial
Helpful Tips for Dealing with Trauma
Trauma manifests in different ways. For some people, they may feel extremely frightened. Some people may find it hard to fall asleep, while some people might just begin to live in denial of the frightening event.
If you’re experiencing trauma, here are some helpful tips that can help you get back on track:
Practice accepting your feelings
Emotions can be scary sometimes, but learning how to accept and tolerate them can be helpful. Instead of denying, rejecting, or suppressing your feelings, acknowledge that they exist.
Doing that will help you to identify trauma triggers and focus on dealing with your feelings in healthy and productive ways.
Process your feelings
Processing your feelings involves finding ways to express them. Whether you write in a journal, talk to a therapist, or start painting, it’s important to find a release system for your feelings.
As you move through the problem, the temptation for you to ignore your feelings for fear that you will wallow in self-pity or sadness and get stuck will arise, but processing your feelings will help you to move through them and let go.
Find support
You can’t work your way to recovery on your own. Trauma isn’t the flu or malaria that you’d just take some pills for and feel better. It requires time, patience, and a strong support system to wade through.
Talk to people you trust or a therapist about what you’re experiencing. Don’t try to suppressing or dismiss your feelings.
Focus on things you can control
Coping with trauma might make you feel vulnerable and helpless, which can be both frightening and overwhelming. But, focusing your attention on what you can control is one way to combat this.
When you intentionally shift your mind off the things that you have no power over or can’t change, you can shift your focus to things within your control that can help to improve your situation.
Focus on self-care
Adequate self-care is important in your journey towards total recovery from trauma. Ensure to eat healthy food, get adequate rest, exercise regularly, take periodic breaks, and other things that will keep your body in optimum shape.
Also, invest in things you enjoy, like seeing a movie, reading a good book, cycling, or gardening, to relieve some of the stress you’re going through. Doing things you enjoy when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed can help you boost resilience and mental strength.
Know When to Seek Help
If you experience intrusive thoughts and feelings, have recurring nightmares, or find it hard to keep your mind off the traumatic event, communicate with an expert about your situation, to be sure you’re getting the support you need.
In essence, it’s natural to feel different after a major or even minor trauma, and accepting yourself and your reaction is a good step to help you feel better and get your life back together.
Remember: you’re not alone! We’re always here to listen to you, answer your questions, or help you connect with a professional. Don’t hesitate to contact us anytime.
