Trauma can be caused by a series of events including military violence, terrorism, domestic violence, accidents, rape, childhood abuse, natural disasters, and/or neglect. Experiencing any of these events can have an adverse psychological and emotional damage on anyone.
With such an extreme ability to impact the psychological welfare of the people with whom these events touch, the aftermath of being exposed to a traumatic event or series of events results in the manifestation of psychological symptoms centered around the very reminder that many of us try to forget. Certain symptoms that are likely to unfold include the following: agitation, irritability, hostility, hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior, social isolation, flashback, fear, severe anxiety, mistrust, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, guilt, loneliness, insomnia, nightmares, emotional detachment or unwanted thoughts. For these reasons alone, managing symptoms of trauma is difficult.
However, the after-effects of trauma differ from person to person. Some of the differences can be judged by the type of trauma, the severity of the exposure, age and stage of development of the traumatized person at the time of the event. It also helps to know if the person has been traumatized before, or this is that first experience with a traumatic event.
Why Is It Difficult To Manage Trauma?
Many traumatized individuals are so uncomfortable with the trauma that they experienced that they would love to completely erase the memories. It doesn’t help that a lot of social supports don’t know how to help traumatized individuals come in respond with things like ” get over it” or ” that was in the past. ” However, it is not that easy to completely delete critical life experiences or forget them totally. The human mind and body will have flashbacks and yearn for healing from the painful effects of the traumatic event. Healing takes time, a lot of perseverance, and faith to overcome the side effects of trauma. There is hope, however, that traumatic experiences don’t have to define the person but getting there is often difficult, and sometimes even seems impossible to the traumatized person.
Coping Skills To Help Manage Trauma
To effectively cope with trauma follow these tips or suggest these tips to a friend or loved one who is dealing with trauma.
Create An Enabling Environment
Visualize or create a unique environment where you can feel safe when troubled. You can decorate this place with things that make you smile like happy photos, a warm blanket, your favorite teddy bear, or you can try to recollect the events of the past which made you happy.
Self-Understanding
Find out more on trauma responses, and why they occur. This will help you have a better understanding of why you have specific reactions to certain things in life. You can also divulge in a variety of meditative like interactions in order to develop self understanding. I recommend creative art therapy books and journaling. For suggestions, please check my website at www.techtalktherapy.com.
Develop Secure Relationships
Being in a secure relationship with a trusted partner can help you feel safe, and give you that extra sense of security and comfort. This might feel hard, specially if you were traumatized by someone that you trust. However, possible, it won’t hurt to find another comfort to help you during this difficult time. Your partner could be your lover, a friend, or a certified mental health professional.
Get Busy
Find something you love doing, to help you focus on the present and distract you from the trauma. It could be meditation, yoga exercises, some form of visual imagery or any other physical activity that you desire. The most important thing in this case, is that you find something that makes you happy and commit to doing it.
Of course, these things can be challenging. Here, at Tech Talk Therapy, we specialize in trauma. If you need help, contact us today for a free consultation at 844 My Tech Talk.