Understanding trauma, its impacts, and moving past trauma through therapy
What is trauma?
Trauma is a response to the impact that an event or situation has on an individual. The response to the trauma can be emotional and can impact how we function in life. It is hard and almost not possible to go through life without ever experiencing trauma.
Trauma impacts:
Trauma can show up in ways we may not expect in our lives. For example, it can deeply impact our relationships with others and how we behave in relationships. Below are some definitions of how trauma may come up for us in different responses.
Responses to Trauma:
After a trauma occurs or multiple traumas occur we may have different ways in which we cope to maintain a sense of safety. These responses that we develop in response to trauma are created to protect us but in return become patterns that we get caught up in that can become unhealthy for us as well.
Fight: Fight response happens when we think that if we are able to fight we can regain power and control over what is seeming to be threatening to us. Fight response can look like yelling or being physical and getting into fights. Some emotions associated with fight response show up as anger and feeling irritable.
Flight: Flight response happens when you feel like you are able avoid a situation. This then leads individuals to feel a sense that they can flee from the danger or threat that they are experiencing. Flight response can look like excessive exercising, constantly on the go, and feeling fidgety or tense.
Freeze: Freeze is a trauma response where the individual feels physically like they cannot escape so in response they numb out under stressful situations. Freeze response can look like feeling physically stiff, increase in heart rate, shallow breathing, and feeling stuck.
Fawn: Fawning is a more recently recognized trauma response. What happens during this trauma response is responding in ways of putting others needs and wants before your own. People pleasing is done and a lack of boundaries also can occur. The purpose of engaging in this way can be to avoid conflicts and to maintain safety from those that trigger the trauma response.
What can help you heal to move on from these responses and to trauma?
Seek help by seeing a trauma informed therapist. Here at Inward counseling we are trauma informed clinicians in the Charlotte NC area. We can help you process trauma that you may have experienced in a safe environment.
Seek out support from others including friends and family. Isolating yourself and not seeking that support can increase negative feelings. It’s okay to not be okay and to seek help.
Allow yourself to feel your feelings. The experiences and feelings of trauma will not go away by avoiding. Journaling can be a great tool to use to help in spending time sitting with your feelings.
Integrate movement and exercise into your routine. Moving your body can be a great release for the emotions that are experienced due to trauma. Connect with your body and where you feel the emotions within your body.
Avoid recreational substances or drugs that can alter your thinking and feeling. For some it could be tempting to cope with using unhealthy substances to numb our feelings. In reality, this does not help. The temporary relief that you can get from using substances does not help in the long term. Substance use over time alters the brain and can make mental health matters worse.
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