How to Overcome a Trauma? 7 Keys to ‘heal’ This Wound

What can we do in the face of trauma? How can we overcome a trauma from childhood or adulthood? Discover the psychological keys to confront these emotional wounds.

When a person suffers a traumatic experience, it can generate a series of negative emotions that become “trapped” in the body and mind. In this way, instead of healing the hurtful event, the trauma remains in our body as energy in our unconscious, affecting our life until we discover it and process it. overcome trauma It involves recognizing the distressing emotions that have damaged us in those moments, feeling them and processing them appropriately. On the other hand, if we end up ignoring psychological trauma or suppressing the feelings linked to these experiences, this can create deeper and lasting damage.

Why should we overcome trauma?

Sometimes we feel that we have not experienced trauma because we think that it has to be something very shocking on an objective level (physical abuse, sexual abuse, or something on this level) when it is any experience that is difficult for us to process, and it stays there, entrenched, In such a way that sometimes, since we do not remember it, it seems that it does not affect us, it remains silent in our unconscious, although it affects our self-esteem, self-concept, how we relate and how we make decisions.

When an experience that has been negative for us causes a wound, it implies that we have not learned to locate and manage this situation, and therefore, surely some that are similar in our life. By not managing it, we end up dealing with them as best we can. We learn to live with traumas instead of standing up to them (although this is not always done in such a simple way).

Before a trauma, there are many people who believe that no one will understand them, that they are the only ones who have experienced a situation like this, or that perhaps they are exaggerating the fact. This feeling can end up making us feel unfocused and isolated from others, and even affect our daily lives. In these cases, there are some reasons that should push us to talk and work to overcome a trauma:

• Get support: Whether you need understanding, empathy, or just feel like you need to talk to someone about this, it’s important to get support if you feel like you can’t. overcome a trauma or that you are being affected by it.
• Give meaning to what happened: “Processing” a trauma It involves giving it meaning. On many occasions a traumatic experience does not have meaning, that is, it is a set of emotions, reactions and questions that worry us. Therefore, converting these feelings and thoughts into language that we understand is necessary to ‘understand’ the trauma.
• Realize that you are more than your trauma: A trauma It can be a turning point in a person’s life. In some cases people may even have their identity affected due to this experience.
• Remove the taboo from trauma: Many times keeping it a secret makes us prisoners of our own emotions. By having that silence we magnify the experience, which makes it more difficult to digest. Talking about it is breaking the taboo, giving it the importance it has and eliminating our own chains.

You must take your time to start working on overcome a trauma The crucial thing is to take it at your own pace and talk about it when you think you are ready. In the event that you think you require help to heal the trauma, you can always count on the help of a mental health professional.

How to overcome a trauma?

In addition to going to a professional psychologist, people can work on the following aspects to overcome psychological trauma:

1. Give yourself time: It may take a while overcome a trauma It may take a lot of work to accept what happened or learn to live with it. If you have lost someone or are in pain because of it, it is essential to give yourself permission to grieve.
2. Talk about the event: For heal trauma It is vital to talk about it with someone you trust. In fact, it is normal for people to try to avoid things that remind them of the event and even not want to express what they feel in front of others. You should keep in mind that avoiding these memories and the feelings associated with them often makes people feel much worse about it.
3. Avoid spending a lot of time alone: If you feel that a trauma is affecting you too much, it is important that you try to avoid isolating yourself from others. Research shows that being around other people makes it less likely to experience mental health problems after a traumatic event. Be careful with avoiding trauma by always being with people, parties, beers… In short, busy. It is essential to talk about it and to do so rely on close people, without occupying our minds to not think about it, but rather making that step lighter.
4. Follow a routine: Try to maintain the routine you had before the traumatic event happened, even though it is difficult for you. Above all, it is crucial to take care of your physical and mental health, so you should focus on exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and maintaining a healthy diet. In this routine, follow basic self-care aspects, they will help you keep your self-esteem afloat: meditate, write, wash your face, play sports, read, eat healthy…
5. Become aware of how you feel: It is normal that you want to avoid thinking about the traumatic event at all costs. But, avoid working for overcome trauma It can prolong stress and prevent you from recovering from this situation. For this, it is very good to meditate, write or keep an emotional diary, it will make being in contact with what you feel easier, the more information about your sensations, the closer you are to emotional management.
6. Be patient: Remember that it is normal to feel this way when faced with an event that has caused you distress. Try to take the process of heal trauma calmly.
7. Go to a professional specialized in trauma: Working hand in hand with someone who knows this will make the process faster, less burdensome, and we will work on aspects that are important to maintain, such as self-esteem, favorable beliefs and effective defense mechanisms in these situations.

Heal a trauma It is a process that requires a lot of personal work and effort. Even so, the first step is to recognize that we are facing this problem and do what we can to deal with it.