Experiencing a traumatic event can have lasting effects that impact every aspect of our lives. Whether you’re dealing with recent trauma or processing experiences from your past, understanding how to cope with these challenges is crucial for healing and recovery. While everyone’s journey is different, mental health professionals agree that there are proven strategies that can help you navigate the aftermath of trauma and begin the path toward healing. But first, let’s understand what trauma is.
Trauma is an emotional and psychological response that occurs when a person experiences an overwhelmingly distressing or life-threatening event. Whether it stems from a single incident like an accident or a natural disaster, ongoing situations such as childhood abuse, or global events like COVID-19, trauma can profoundly impact a person’s sense of safety and well-being. Research shows that around 70% of people worldwide will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime.
The resulting traumatic stress can manifest in various ways, affecting both mind and body. Common emotional responses to this stress include feelings of shock, fear, sadness, and helplessness, while physical symptoms might include rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and sleep disturbances. For those experiencing traumatic stress, daily life can become incredibly challenging as intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and intense emotions can make it difficult to maintain a normal day-to-day life.
When this acute traumatic stress persists beyond several weeks and significantly impacts daily life, it may develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A condition that affects about 6% of adults at some point in their lives. PTSD symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness, and heightened states of anxiety or alertness.
If you are suffering as a result of trauma, it is important that you take the proper steps to cope and constructively deal with the emotions you’re feeling. While it can be tempting to avoid the memories or situations that trigger traumatic stress, suppressing your trauma will only work for so long. Dealing with your trauma constructively and learning to manage your symptoms is the best way to move forward from traumatic experiences in your past.
Here are five coping strategies to help you deal with traumatic stress and rebuild your life.
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If you’re dealing with traumatic stress, it is normal to want to avoid experiencing your feelings and emotions, as thoughts and memories related to your trauma can feel overwhelming. However, bottling up your emotions and suppressing them is not the answer, as this can do more harm in the long run. The fact is that your feelings exist whether you acknowledge them or not, and if you suppress your emotions, the stress you experience may linger longer than if you face your feelings head-on.
While it is easier said than done, learning to face your feelings and accept them is critical if you want to heal and move forward from trauma. Whether you are feeling angry, guilty, scared, or sad about what you experienced, allow yourself to feel these things without judgment. If you allow yourself to feel and process your emotions, you will eventually be able to learn to cope with what you experienced. Give yourself space to heal, and remember that it may take time to process all of the emotions you are experiencing.
In order to move forward from trauma, it is critical that you lean on a support system. While it is common for people to withdraw after a traumatic experience and isolate themselves, this is one of the worst things that you can do. Family support and joining support groups can provide strength during this difficult time, and studies have even shown that social support reduces the amount of cortisol the body produces when you’re feeling anxious. Maintaining relationships and spending time with loved ones can be crucial to your mental health and recovery.
While opening up about your trauma to loved ones can be healing when you feel ready, there’s no need to rush this process. Remember that meaningful connection comes in many forms. Sometimes, just spending time with people who care about you, talking about everyday life, or sharing simple activities together can provide immense comfort. These ‘normal’ interactions help ground you in the present moment and remind you that you’re more than your traumatic experience.
When coping with trauma, it is easy to forget basic self-care. You may find that instead of eating, taking a shower, or going to work, all you feel motivated to do is lay in bed. While this is a common experience, it can be detrimental to your recovery and could even make your symptoms worse. Poor diet and irregular sleep habits can actually make your symptoms more severe, which is why prioritizing self-care should be an essential component of your recovery. Making sure that you eat regularly, exercise, and maintain consistent sleep habits will ensure that your mind and body have the tools they need to recover from the trauma you experienced.
While stress is a normal part of everyday life, too much stress can be detrimental to your health and can hinder your recovery from a traumatic experience. As you work towards healing and overcoming your trauma, try to support your recovery by limiting the amount of stress in your life. While you may not be able to remove certain stressors (like work) from your life, you can put extra focus on mindfulness techniques, relaxation techniques, and grounding techniques. Activities like listening to music, breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga can be particularly effective forms of relaxation.
While many people are able to overcome trauma on their own with enough time, you are not alone if you are overwhelmed by traumatic stress and are not sure how to deal with it by yourself. If your symptoms don’t seem to be improving with time, or they even seem to be getting worse, then you may want to consider seeking professional help. Trauma-informed services offer various treatment options, including Somatic Experiencing, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), family counseling, and medications for PTSD when necessary. These professional interventions can help you develop effective strategies to cope with your trauma by teaching you to recognize and change unhealthy thought patterns.
If you’re finding it difficult to recover from trauma on your own, remember that help is available. Contact us to learn how our team of experienced mental health professionals can support you during this challenging time. From therapy and family counseling to medication-assisted treatment, we offer comprehensive trauma-informed care to help you heal and rebuild your life.
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