Finding Peace When You've Experienced Trauma
Is it possible to experience trauma and still find a sense of tranquility?
After going through something traumatic, it is hard to move on. You don’t want to
let the trauma define you, but unfortunately, it often does. Trauma or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs after something tragic or life-altering goes unresolved.
Trauma symptoms may include:
Flashbacks, Avoidance, Loss of trust, Guilt or Shame,
Hopelessness, Nightmares, Substance Use, Panic Attacks
Recovering from trauma is a process that takes time and patience.
Because it has gone unresolved, it more than likely has brought forth
any one of the symptoms above.
Finding peace when you have gone through something traumatic is possible. There is hope that you can have a brighter future free from the symptoms that affect your daily life. Keep reading to find out more on how you can begin healing today and find little moments of peace.
Practical Coping Skills
Focus On Your Five Senses
This is a great method to ground yourself and
bring you back to the present moment.
Focus on:
One thing you can hear, something you can see, one thing you can touch, what you can smell, one thing you can taste
It helps you to bring yourself to the present and
focus in the here and now, not the past.
Breathing Exercises
This is something simple you can do that doesn’t require anything but the ability to breathe! When you are experiencing a panic attack or recurring memory that is leaving you triggered, you can practice deep breathing.
These exercises are scientifically proven to help calm your body and mind down.
Here is a quick exercise that you can use:
1) Inhale for four seconds
2) Hold for two seconds
3) Exhale for six to eight seconds
4) Repeat
Doing this activates the part of your nervous system that is responsible for calming your mind. Sometimes, the most important thing you can do in the moment of a triggering attack from trauma is to just breathe through it in order to ground yourself.
Self Awareness
Another tip to help bring you more peace when you are dealing with trauma
is to simply acknowledge it. Too often, people who experienced trauma
have a tendency to think that if they ignore it, it will just go away.
Not only is this the furthest thing from the truth, but it can actually
worsen your symptoms in the long run.
It helps if you can write down or pay attention to what you are feeling and where you are at. If you write down what you are feeling and where you are at, you can ask yourself, “Is it reasonable for me to be feeling like this in this situation?” Oftentimes, we are triggered by something so little that our minds go into overdrive.
Having self-awareness can help you be more relaxed by counteracting the irrational thoughts that can take place in your mind. It reminds you that this is the present moment and not the traumatic event you experienced. It helps to separate your past from what is going on now.
Seek Support
After a traumatic experience, people sometimes will isolate themselves from their support systems. Not wanting to be a burden and not feeling like they are understood, it is easier, in their minds, to just hide away. Withdrawing from social systems can do more damage to your mental health in the long run. Not only are you stopping yourself from finding comedic relief, bonding, and quality time with friends or family — you are also giving your mind more chances to focus on the trauma.
While you don’t want to avoid the memory of trauma all together, having moments where you are not even thinking about it, naturally, can do wonders to help you find peace in your life.