Healing Energy on Me: Crushing Trauma Through Self-Care 💪🏽

Trauma is a sensitive subject, & people define it in different ways. Some say it’s an extremely negative experience, while others describe it as something that affects you in a negative way. Regardless, almost everyone has experienced some level of trauma, but with a little healing energy, you can stop those experiences from impacting your life in the wrong way. 🙌🏽

What Exactly Is Trauma? 🤔

According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, crime, natural disaster, physical or emotional abuse, neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, death of a loved one, war, and more.” 🥺 Not only is there an emotional response to the event, but there’s also physical responses. Some of the most common symptoms of someone experiencing trauma are: 

Emotional:

• Negative thoughts 
• Blaming yourself 
• Ongoing negative emotions & difficulty feeling positive emotions 
• Lack of interest in activities
• Feeling isolated
• Hopelessness 
• Feeling nervous 
• Irritability or easily getting angry 

Physical:

• Upset stomach & trouble eating 
• Trouble sleeping
• Pounding heart, rapid breathing, & feeling shaky
• Sweating 
• Severe headaches 
• Unexplained body aches & muscle tension
• Extreme exhaustion 
• Drinking, smoking, or using illegal substances more often 

Cognitive Reactions:

• Flashbacks
• Intrusive thoughts or images
• Nightmares
• Intense distress when the event is thought of
• Feeling on edge
• Trouble concentrating or making decisions
• Jumpy or easily startled 

     Something that may seem minor or “normal” to one person may be extreme for another. For example, I know people who have been in car accidents that are scared to drive now, but several others got right back in a car soon after. I remember having a blowout in the far left lane of I-85N during rush hour & spinning across every lane until I was on the side. 🛞 Literally 2 seconds after I stopped, an 18-wheeler flew by me. I was shaken up for a few minutes, but I kept going after my tire was changed. I can say that I remember the exact place it happened, & it’s probably been 15 years.

     Another example that may not be traumatic for others is my fear of flying. ✈️ I used to love to fly. It only took 1 flight with horrible turbulence to scar me since the. Now I get nervous, palms get sweaty, stomach spins, & I refuse to get on a plane that has 2 or less seats on each side. For whatever weird reason, I feel like the bigger plane is safer. 

     Step One in the healing journey is recognizing that your trauma exists. 1️⃣ If you don’t realize it’s trauma, you can’t change the circumstances to make things better for yourself. This is when you have to be real with yourself & think about feedback you get from your inner circle. Outsiders can see things that we often can’t see about ourselves, so welcome feedback from trusted individuals. Your inner circle wouldn’t tell you anything to intentionally hurt you.

Healing From Trauma ❤️‍🩹

Once you know that you’re dealing with trauma, you can take steps to heal from it. That takes some serious work though. Leaving the trauma untreated just makes things worse & can lead to mental health issues. There are resources that can help through the journey though. 🧰

Therapy 🗣️

Therapy is a beautiful thing, whether it’s individual, couples, family, or group therapy. One-on-one therapy gives you more time to focus on yourself & any specific issues you want to address. It allows you to get a better understanding of your trauma & learn coping skills you can use. It’ll make you take a good look at yourself to measure where you are in your journey.

     Couples & family therapy can help when it comes to feedback from others. It can be difficult to communicate touchy subjects, especially when what’s communicated can be taken the wrong way. Having a neutral party helps with the potential to feel ganged up on. The other parties can also gain an understanding of what you’ve been through, how you feel, & how to support you better. It takes a village! 🏘️

     Group therapy can be a little tricky. Depending on the size of the group, you may or may not feel like you have a chance to speak. On the other hand, you can pick up some coping skills that may help you a little more. Additionally, you may feel more supported & less alone since you’ll see you’re not alone in your traumatic experience. 🤗

Trigger Recognition ⚠️

This is when self-reflection comes into play. 🪞 You’ll have to know what happens that produces the effect on you. Look at people, places, things, dates, anything obtained from using your senses, & anything else associated with the experience. You may have to be conscious of what occurred when you start feeling any of the symptoms from trauma. The Notes app on your phone is an easy way to keep track, especially since most of us keep our phones with us everywhere we go. 📱 It definitely comes in handy with me & my never-ending thoughts about random things.

     Another resource is journaling. 📓 It’s a way to let those feelings out. Keeping them inside is a recipe for disaster. Just like a physical wound can’t heal until it’s addressed, an emotional wound is the same way. You have to put the work in to get to a better place. Our adult journals have space to write freely about how you’re feeling & what happened that day. Our young adult journals have writing space as well, but they also include a daily feelings tracker. Journaling allows you to also reflect on your progress along the way. 

Crush Trauma With Self-Care 🗑️

Take👏🏽care👏🏽of👏🏽yourself! Whether you’re dealing with trauma or not, you have to prioritize your self-care. They’re great coping skills, & there are countless options to try to see what works for you. Check out these self-care ideas that can help with overcoming trauma:

• Journaling 
• Guided Meditation
• Yoga
• Exercise 
• Doing Hobbies
• Positive Affirmations 
• Deep Breathing Exercises
• Asking For Help
• Getting Enough Sleep
• Spending Time With Friends & Family
• Aromatherapy  
• Pray

     There are so many things you can do throughout your healing journey. You just have to try different things to see what works for you. With my flying issue, I pray 🙏🏽 , breathe deeply 😮‍💨, & listen to music 🎧. I’ve worked my issue down to only needing those tools during takeoff & landing. Maybe eventually I’ll not need anything. Guess we’ll see. #Progress

     Regardless of what self-care tactics you use, know that you’re not alone. Realize that there are resources to help you during your healing journey. Acknowledge that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Baby steps are still steps! 💯

If you’re struggling with trauma, reach out to the resources on the following link: 

https://www.nsvrc.org/resource/resources-survivors-violence-disasters-and-other-traumatic-experiences