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From Darkness to Light: Rebuilding After Trauma

Dark Night of the Soul: What It Is

The bestselling author of The Bounce Back Book shares tips for rebuilding after trauma. Read on…

Acknowledging the impact of trauma on your life can often feel like a daunting task, no matter how old you are. It does not necessarily mean you will ever forget the experiences or forget the effect they had.

One of the ways that you can learn from trauma is to know about your resilience – your strength and power to heal or recover from just about anything.

I’m sharing about the topic of rebuilding after trauma because I’m a bestselling author on behavioral change with over 2 million books and courses sold. Plus, I’ve shared a lot about healing from trauma in my bestselling and therapist recommended online program: The Anxiety Cure Course.

But I wanted to take things a step further – and share some insights right here on my blog – about how rebuild and becoming resilient after experiencing trauma.

1. To Thrive is to Acknowledge the Impact of Trauma

The first step in the healing journey is acknowledging the impact of trauma. Trauma is an everyday occurrence and can affect you in a single catastrophic event or it can be a seemingly endless state of circumstances. Trauma also has a lasting impact on the body, the brain, and emotions. 

In recovery – or what you describe as the process of finding healing – it is dependent on recognizing, validating, and accepting the impact trauma has had both physically and mentally. It’s okay to admit when you are struggling and ask for help.

Therapists and counsellors also have resources available to them providing a newfound effectiveness in emotional processwork. When a trauma victim can see their past experiences as valid and real, they can start to appreciate the state they are presently in for what it is.

2. Professional Support

Getting professional help is also crucial when dealing with trauma. Therefore, counseling and therapy should work to facilitate the processing of these experiences while also providing or teaching individuals coping mechanisms (i.e., they gain trauma management/reduction skills). Therapy offers a safe, neutral, and non-judgmental space to connect with and understand your own emotions regarding the events that occurred and work through the pain.

Different therapeutic approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), and trauma-focused therapy are proven effective in treating trauma. Because of the potential for these intense reactions, the goal of counseling or treatment should be to move at a seemingly manageable pace to address these aspects of the trauma with the client. Building a strong support network is critical to recovery. 

3. Maintaining a Strong Support System

Rebuilding After TraumaUnderstanding and encouragement can be found with friends, family, your faith tradition, social support groups, and, really with anyone with whom you can share your story and have them share theirs.

Sharing your story, particularly with others who have faced or are facing similar situations can help in reducing feelings of isolation and provide you with a sense of belonging.

4. Practicing Self-Care

Taking care of ourselves is pivotal. So, an effort from our side to make self-balancing activities (these are the ones where it addresses all the three parts of our being, which are the mind, body, and soul, and the world as well.) can help bring life back into focus and lower grave worries.

Take up regular exercise, a foolproof diet, good rest, and mindfulness (this could be yoga or meditation). This shows, that spraying oil over clothing might also be practiced sparingly and leaves behind a calming fragrance even as it nurtures.

5. Understanding Triggers

triggers emotional woundsTriggers are an important part of the recovery journey for those who have experienced trauma. They are sensory experiences triggering negative memories to form associations with the trauma. Most of the triggers include sounds or sights of things commonly associated with similar or identical experiences that are the root of one’s PTSD. As such, understanding these triggers helps you cope better and keeps such reactions in check. 

Writing about these patterns in a safe space can be empowering. If you see a pattern or find a common trigger, write it down. You and your therapist can then analyze your journal to identify patterns of behavior or ligaments necessary triggers. If going over a trigger doesn’t stop them, we need to build more coping tools until we find one that does the job.

In therapy, you will have a safe space to work through the hard feelings that get trapped in your body through techniques and coping mechanisms that address the physical and emotional aspects associated with triggers.

6. Acknowledging Trauma: Allowing Yourself to Feel and Emote

One of the important aspects of healing is allowing yourself to feel and express emotions. Holding in your emotions, however, can lead to increased stress and emotional confusion. Finding ways to express my emotions, not just talking to people- writing, fashion, sourcing, and the entrepreneurial journey. “The process of opening a blank page and expressing yourself truthfully in the confines of those pieces is relatively calm.”

7. Resilience Building

resilienceExpressing words of self-care from daily activities such as steady gym visits or including a routine that is balanced in the diet. Recognizing that each day is an opportunity to cultivate.

By setting small and reachable goals, you begin to build the foundation of control that renews once more your sense of willpower to achieve these goals. Try to keep a daily log of moments that display gratitude or mindfulness. When motivated by learning, resilience is reinforced. Flexibility can foster resilience and sturdiness in every one of us. 

These practices enhance our resilience on an individual level, strengthening our capacity to weather the storms and come to the other side rejuvenated, capable, and improved. Striving towards the epitome of personal strength and perseverance from every minute misquoted fumble. You cannot traverse through existence without facing adversity.

Despite this, you can analyze your past experiences, work on strategies to cope with grief and apply these lessons in your daily trials. Thus, persisting again and guarding our ability to bear wounds by reflecting on where we have come from will be our path to tranquillity. By personally attending to resilience this act — much like bouncing back rubber bands – ultimately helps embrace future challenges and circumstances haywire.

8. Connecting with the Outdoors

There is a natural and therapeutic process to healing trauma by connecting with the outdoors. Time spent in nature encourages nature connection and, along with stress reduction, mental clarity, and mood enhancement, this immersive approach presents pathways to peace and tranquillity. Any activity that involves walking through a park, hiking outside, gardening in sunlight, or even sitting down to focus on your breath – can help calm your mind and grind your being. 

The outdoor sights, sounds, and fresh air help awaken our senses and transport us away from our usual hustle and bustle. Nature can provide beauty, tranquillity, and a sense of connection that can work wonders in terms of fostering a peaceful mental state. Here’s how forests benefit your health: Future studies should explore these aspects further to assess their potential in aiding recovery from mental health problems.

9. Showing Gratitude

let go of resentment quote karen salmansohnOffering gratitude for trauma treatment can significantly affect your recuperation. It makes sense that thanking the professionals – whether diagnosticians, primary therapists, or even psychopharmacologists can deepen connections, encourage positive feelings, and make you grateful for the kind of luck you needed all along. You got a lot of help from different corners. 

Sending notes of thanks to your support group and the people you love can strengthen connections to increase your joy and tame your grief.

Writing in a gratitude journal will remind you of this progress, even those small milestones because those, too, show progress in your path of healing. Also, doing good deeds such as volunteer work or doing something good for someone else can give you a sense of purpose or fill you with joy. 

It helps shift your thoughts and memories from old traumatic experiences to positive ones. Use and embrace your gratitude gift every day to make your life more positive and easy to live. Keep hope, though. Your healing journey may surprise you! Finally, current growth changes our dying thoughts. Therefore, an attitude of gratitude (always directed toward the light and feeling comfort rather than constriction throughout the day) represents a great path forward to rebuilding after trauma.

In Conclusion: Rebuilding After Trauma

Here are a few steps that can help you rebuild and heal after trauma. Some will be easier than others. But all are crucial to the recovery process! It will be difficult to adapt to your old life as it was before the abuse. It would be hard to adjust after abuse from someone that you made your role model – no one can question the permeable bastion, and the nature of the relationship gets unhealthy. Be vigilant if people engage in any type of abuse or aggression. And let them be accountable to you without reproaching them. The moral of the story is that gradually we will become what we were earlier.

Get More Support For Your Emotional Health

If you’re struggling to get started with making small needed changes in your life, consider enrolling in my online program Tweak A Week. This course is designed to make it easier to improve your life.

P.S. Before you zip off to your next Internet pit stop, check out these 2 game changers below - that could dramatically upscale your life.

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