How to Heal from Trauma
Trauma doesn’t live between clean boundaries or manifest with obvious symptoms. Your trauma can show up as sleepless nights or a persistent feeling that danger is lurking around the corner. It may show up as an inability to trust others or feeling emotionless when you should be feeling joyful.
If you’ve been carrying the weight of difficult experiences, you might be questioning whether healing is even possible for you. The answer is a resounding yes. The path forward may just be disguised as something you don’t yet recognize.
Understanding how trauma affects you and what steps can support your recovery is the key to rebuilding the life you deserve.
Acknowledge What You’ve Been Through
Healing begins with recognition. After trauma, it’s common to want to minimize your experience, feeling like your situation wasn’t bad enough to make a big fuss. You may convince yourself that others have been through more, so it could always be worse.
Unfortunately, the comparison loop will keep you stuck in this negative narrative. Your pain is valid regardless of how it compares to anyone else’s story.
Acknowledging trauma doesn’t mean you’re dwelling on it or seeking pity. It simply means you accept the circumstances and that your life has been impacted. Once you reach a place of acceptance, you can start to heal.
Understand Your Body’s Response
Trauma weaves its way into your mind and physical body. It activates your nervous system, triggering bodily reactions that can feel overwhelming. Below are some experiences that can come from trauma:
Rapid breathing
Racing heart rate
Chronic muscle tension in your jaw, neck, and shoulders
Difficulty sleeping or finding restful sleep
Digestive issues or a change in appetite
Learning to recognize how your body is responding to trauma can shift the narrative from a feeling that you’re failing to understanding that this is a natural reaction. Your body is simply doing its job to protect you after you have experienced a threatening situation.
Work with Your Nervous System
Understanding polyvagal theory can be transformative in trauma recovery. Your nervous system operates in various states depending on your surroundings:
Safe and social: where you feel calm and connected
Mobilized: where you feel ready to fight or flee
Shutdown: where you feel numb or frozen
Trauma typically leads to your body entering a fight-or-flight mode. To move into a place of healing, you need to shift your nervous system back into that safe and social state through breathwork practices, gentle movement, supportive relationships, and safe environments.
Reconnect with Your Spiritual Self
Trauma can cause you to feel disconnected from your life’s meaning and purpose. Many people find that exploring certain spiritual beliefs can be a significant part of the journey.
Spirituality doesn’t mean one thing over another and will look different for everyone. You may find solace in prayer, meditation, time in nature, or diving into a community of faith. Whatever spirituality means to you, it can offer a guideline for making sense of your experience and provide a source to pull strength from.
Building a Foundation of Safety
Feeling safe in your environment is important to successfully processing your trauma. You may need to set boundaries with certain people in your circle. This can also include creating routines that offer stability and predictability during this time of healing.
Physical safety is important, but it’s also important to consider emotional and spiritual safety. Take a moment to ask yourself what safety means for you. Once you have your answer, build those aspects into your daily life to give yourself a solid foundation.
Seek Professional Support
Working with a trained therapist who specializes in trauma can make all the difference in your road to recovery. Together, we can develop coping strategies, identify your triggers, and gradually work through any negative emotions you’ve been carrying.
Trauma-informed therapy can help you move forward. Reach out today to get started.