Finding Support For Your Trauma Outside of Therapy

You've taken the first steps to heal from trauma — going to therapy. It was a huge step but one that you were ready to take. No matter what traumatic event you are working through, you are likely seeing the benefits of therapy already. But, there always remains one big question for many clients: how do I help myself in between sessions?

While working closely with a counselor may give you comfort, the sessions, unfortunately, can't be 24/7. Even after your therapy session is over, your brain is constantly cycling through ways to help you continue to move on. It may seem odd to say, but the memories and feelings you experience during a trauma flashback are your brain's way to help you heal. It tries to give you more information about the event in order to process it. However, this often just causes people to panic and push away the memory, worsening the symptoms they are experiencing because of the trauma.

Just because you are in between sessions does not mean that you can't find support for your trauma.  In fact, there are a few things you can try on your own to continue the work you and your therapist are doing together. You don't want to push it too hard, however. So here are three, non-invasive ways to continue to work through your trauma on your own to find support.

Body Scan

As our bodies prepare to enter fight, flight, or freeze mode, it causes a lot of tension. Long after a traumatic event is over, you may experience moments of high anxiety or panic as you think back on the memory. It is common for people to feel extremely tense in their muscles, get a headache, or begin to feel light-headed or dizzy.

The purpose of a body scan isn't to attempt and stop any of this from happening. Rather, it is just an exercise to help you become aware of what is happening to your body as you are remembering the trauma. While it may be tempting to try to ignore what you are feeling, it is actually doing you a disservice, in the long run. The goal of this exercise is not to relax, but to just understand the different sensations in your body.

This helps you to support yourself and the healing process, ensuring that you are not pushing anything away.

Make Connections With Friends/Family

After someone has gone through a traumatic event, it is not uncommon for people to try and isolate themselves. Not wanting to feel like a burden, they will withdrawal into themselves, not wanting to bother friends and family with what they are going through.

It's hard to go through something traumatic and expect others to understand what you are going through. As humans, when we are isolating ourselves, we are actually causing our bodies to work harder. Why? Because humans, at the end of the day, all crave attention and connection with other human beings. We were made to come together as a community for support, protection, and companionship.

You are probably wondering how talking to other people, besides your therapist, could help. It can help by talking, laughing, and sharing memories that have nothing to do with what you experienced. While you could never forget about the trauma and should never push it away, forgetting for a little bit can do wonders for your mood.

Find Support Groups

Talking to a room full of strangers about the trauma you experienced probably is not at the top of your to-do list. But, hear us out.

When you've gone through a traumatic experience, you likely feel very alone. As if no one could truly get it. While your experience may be completely unique to you, the after-effects of trauma are pretty universal. Whether it is intrusive memories, thoughts, anxiety, or avoidance, in some ways, you are sharing this experience with other people. What led each of you to this place may be different, but a support group can help you see that you aren't alone. Sometimes the best support is just knowing that someone out there gets it. Gets you.

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Just because you are in-between sessions does not mean that you can't find support through your trauma. Whether it makes you more aware of what is going on with your body, allows you to enjoy moments with friends or family, or in a support group — you can always find guidance and relief.

If you haven't found a therapist yet who you believe could help you, please read more about trauma therapy and feel free to reach out to us to see if we are a good fit to support you on this journey.