5 Ways to Cope with Trauma
Are you struggling to overcome a past trauma? Do you want to heal from past experiences that have left lingering scars or emotions? When you have experienced trauma in your life, you may be left with side effects that you never saw coming. Some suffer from nightmares, visions, irrational fears, phobias, or even just crippling anxiety. In EMDR therapy in Orlando, we work with many people to accept and cope with trauma. These are just a few of the ways that you can cope with your trauma and start thriving in life once again.
Own Your Emotions
Many people may want to blame themselves for their trauma, or they may want to hide from the emotions entirely. By avoiding your pain, you can actually cause the harm to last much longer. Instead, it is important to validate your emotions by owning them. Remind yourself that your feelings are true, justified, and honest. This will allow you to face them head on, which can result in you accepting your trauma and taking steps to heal.
Find Support
After trauma, you want to lean on trusted friends and family. Although you may not be fully ready to open up about what happened to you, you still want to be in the presence of those that make you feel safe. Be sure that you surround yourself with people that will respect your emotions and listen to your needs, as these will be a positive influence as you go through the difficult process of healing.
Listen to Your Body
Recognizing how your body feels is also important when you are healing from past trauma. You may start to feel your heart racing, your palms sweating, or just fear creeping into your mind. This can trigger you to feel uncomfortable or even revert back into those traumatic memories. By listening to your body, you can remove yourself from any uncomfortable situations before they cause a severe negative response.
Set Boundaries
Taking time for yourself is also important when you are healing from trauma. When you are constantly overwhelmed, busy, or just overworked, you may struggle to put your mental health first. Over time, this can cause you to become bogged down by emotions. To avoid these slumps, be sure that you set appropriate boundaries and prioritize your needs. Take breaks when you need to, and learn how to say ‘no’ when you do not want to do something.
Learn Your Triggers
When you are working with a therapist, you can learn how to identify triggers that prompt negative responses. This will help you to recognize certain situations, people, or sounds that may remind you of your trauma. As you learn to cope, you can start to face these triggers with all of your coping strategies ready to go. Although this takes time, it is a part of the process to heal from your trauma and regain control over your life once again.
These are a few of the ways that you can cope with traumatic experiences. We do not choose to have trauma happen to us. Instead, it just happens. To learn how to overcome the emotions that come with trauma, you may want to consider EMDR therapy in Orlando. Contact Orlando Thrive Therapy to hear more about our services to cope with trauma today.
