Trauma
Trauma is a distressing experience that affects our mental and physical well-being. It is the unresolved emotional response to a frightening event that occurred.
The concept of trauma was first observed in military contexts, but we can experience trauma anywhere from our childhood to adulthood. Traumatic events vary from witnessing your parents fighting when you were young to being involved in a city bombing.
The effects of trauma
Trauma shows up in our body in many different ways. It causes us to think illogically whenever we feel scared.
It may show up as:
• fear
• nightmares
• social isolation
• anxiety and depression.
Healing from our trauma
As individuals we have the responsibility of holding ourselves accountable as to how we respond to traumatic experiences, how we heal, and grow out of trauma.
Healing from trauma is not easy work but it allows us to face our fears headstrong. We will also be able to provide our own needs instead of relying on other people to soothe us when distressed.
How to alleviate traumatic experiences
Here are some ways to alleviate trauma:
• By facing our past and identifying which events caused us trauma
• Allowing ourselves to feel emotions and not suppressing them
• By showing compassion to ourselves and not be ashamed of what we went through
• Through rediscovering our self-worth and allowing ourselves to recover from the past.