Experiencing something traumatic, no matter how you try to minimize it, has a lasting impact. And while over time, our bodies (if they were involved) might heal, our brains hold onto things for a long time if they are not talked about and sorted through.
Finding a professional that can help you can take some time, but it is ultimately worth it – as you will be able to get the medical, mental health support that you need and deserve.
What is a traumatic event?
We might not think it, but almost everyone has been through something that could be classed as a traumatic event. A traumatic event is anything that is highly distressing, frightening, stressful, and or harmful.
When people are talking about trauma, it could mean a few things; firstly, it could be the impact the experience had on us, ‘our trauma,’ or it could be the situation that is traumatic.
Everyone deals with things differently so the same event can be experienced completely differently by different people. Some people might be able to carry on and deal with it quickly, while for others, it will have a much bigger impact.
Trauma is personal, but there are some feelings that may stay around:
- Unsafe
- Ashamed
- Powerless
- Rejected
- Scared
- Alone
- Anxious
The experience can be from seeing something happen, something happening to you, you doing something that puts you in danger, being harmed or almost harmed, or living through continued events (childhood and beyond).
What does self-care look like when helping yourself through trauma?
Self-care is a lot of different things, but when it comes to working through things that have been hurtful and are still painful, it doesn’t always look like the same self-care you might see in advertisements and movies.
Weighted blankets
Weighted blankets help with the sleep disturbances that are associated with trauma. Our brains use dreams to help process things, but those dreams can feel real and very scary. If you find yourself waking often and feeling the effects of exhaustion, then a weighted blanket is important.
Justice
While many people talk about getting revenge, in many cases looking for justice can go someway to helping you resolve some of your feelings. In some cases, seeking justice can prevent the same thing happening to others.
It might be that the police are the first point that you need to go to; it might be that you need to speak to the people who are supporting and protecting someone who is toxic and harms others. For other events seeking a truck accident lawyer for you or writing a letter to a company that has left you feeling lasting effects of their actions. Justice will look different depending on the circumstances.
Ask your support network to help you take these steps if you feel like it will help or if you can prevent further damage to other people.
5 Senses
Sometimes out of nowhere, the memory or the body’s feeling of what happened will arise, and it can catch you off guard. When that happens, a good thing to do is run through your five senses. Look for something in a specific color, touch something soft or shiny, listen to what you can hear if you have gum, chew some, and take a deep breath.
Engaging them all will switch your focus and help you to concentrate on something else for a short period – and sometimes that is enough for it to pass.
Time
If you are saying to yourself, “I should be over it by now,” or other people around you ask, “why are you still being like this?” – it is easy to feel like you are failing. But everyone processes things differently, and you need and deserve time.
Recovering and moving through these moments takes time and will need the support of friends, family, and, most often, outside counseling. Because there is no such thing as a magic cure, it is a lot about finding the things that make you feel good for a while.
Things that take your mind off the event and over time, notice that you are having fewer symptoms – which is an indicator that you might be healing slowly.
There are likely to be things that arise on the journey to healing that happen, and it might make you feel like all of your hard work has been wasted – but that is part of the process too.
One of the most important things to remember is that traumatic events can happen to anyone, and there is no shame in seeking help and processing it. Part of that process can be making your life more peaceful, and here are some tips for that: How To Bring Peace In Your Life | FactoryTwoFour.