Healing From Trauma With Professional Guidance
You're not alone if you're looking for mental health advice and support on your road to better health and healing from trauma. Licensed therapists are certified professionals who can help people find relief from life's daily stressors and painful past experiences. They can equip individuals with tools and advice for managing chronic mental health conditions and challenges like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and trauma. If you're living with a trauma-related condition or symptoms, it may be helpful to understand how these professionals can support you.
How trauma affects mental health
A traumatic event can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status. The effects of unhealed trauma can last a lifetime if left untreated and may eventually result in more serious challenges, including mental illnesses like PTSD. In addition, trauma has been linked to several damaging impacts on the immune system, blood sugar levels, and digestive health.
For improved health after trauma, addressing the related challenges that may be adversely impacting your mental and physical health can be valuable. Attending therapy for mental and emotional trauma can help you heal from these experiences and related conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. To understand how to find support, it may be beneficial to first understand the most common primary causes of trauma in adults.
Four common causes of trauma and PTSD
Below are some of the most common causes of adult trauma disorders and related challenges.
Childhood attachment
When primary caregivers do not meet the emotional and physical needs of their infants and young children, it can result in the child developing an insecure attachment that carries over into adulthood. Adults with an insecure attachment style may struggle to develop secure relationship bonds with others. However, studies suggest that adults may be able to change their attachment styles to “secure” with professional support, education, and effort.
Early childhood abuse and neglect
Trauma survivors who have experienced early childhood abuse or neglect may develop insecure attachments to their primary caregiver and experience a trauma disorder or related symptoms as a result. Unresolved trauma can appear as mental and physical symptoms that may be difficult to cope with without professional guidance.
Physical and sexual abuse
People who experience physical or sexual abuse can have emotional scars that make it difficult to achieve goals, form healthy relationships, and understand themselves. Attending therapy to reduce the effects of trauma may be beneficial for learning healthier coping skills and mindsets.
Note that the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) has a hotline dedicated to supporting individuals experiencing sexual assault, harassment, or intimate partner violence. You can contact them any time by calling 800-656-HOPE (4673) or using the online chat.
Other traumatic events
Other events that may cause mental trauma include but are not limited to the following:
The death of a loved one
Divorce or separation
War and war crimes
A pandemic
Witnessing violence
Natural disasters
Homelessness
Poverty
Food insecurity
Healing from trauma: How therapy can support you
Getting advice from a licensed therapist may be beneficial if you're overwhelmed by the effects of trauma. While seeking advice from close friends or family members may be tempting, these individuals aren’t considered a replacement for a licensed professional who can offer research-backed advice and personalized guidance. Therapists are clinically trained to provide coping strategies and solutions tailored to your life circumstances.
Types of therapy for coping with trauma
Below are some of the therapeutic formats clients can practice with their therapists. Some providers may use more than one therapy technique to get the best results for their clients. Therapy treatment plans are generally designed to reflect your concerns, your therapist’s recommendations, and your goals for treatment.
Healing from trauma and building resilience through individual therapy
When a therapist and a client have one-on-one sessions for psychotherapy, it’s referred to as individual therapy. A licensed mental health provider can guide you through resolving personal challenges during individual therapy sessions. There are over 400 therapeutic modalities—including various types of trauma-informed therapy, from somatic experiencing to cognitive processing therapy—so your therapist can work with you to find a modality that fits your needs, depending on their specialty and experience.
Marriage and couples therapy can help trauma-related conflicts
Romantic partners can see licensed therapy providers to resolve communication and functioning challenges more cohesively as a couple. For clients who have experienced a traumatic event, marriage therapy may focus on attachment styles and how one's traumatic past impacts their marriage. One modality that takes this approach is emotionally focused therapy (EFT), which helps couples connect their pasts.
Learn coping strategies through family therapy
In some cases, a family might be unsure of how to resolve challenges related to intergenerational trauma or other traumatic experiences affecting them as a whole. A therapist can act as a mediator to offer support, facilitate communication, and help family members find common ground.
Recovery through person-focused therapy or humanistic therapy
Humanistic therapy takes a different approach to psychotherapy than many other modalities. This person-focused therapy type emphasizes an individual's wants, needs, and behaviors. Humanistic therapy sessions and treatment plans are designed around the individual to help them achieve desired results in their personal lives.
Learn resilience and other coping strategies using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most common and widely used therapeutic modalities, often considered the "gold standard" of talk therapy. This modality posits that thought patterns impact behaviors and emotions. Cognitive behavioral therapists use psychotherapy tools to help clients eliminate unwanted behavioral patterns by shifting their maladaptive thoughts. Through CBT, clients can learn resilience that helps them adapt to life’s changes. CBT therapists may also use worksheets, roleplay, and other activities to support their clients.
Find support from online therapy or counseling
Online therapy and counseling can support healing from past traumas properly. Online therapy through platforms like BetterHelp takes traditional, in-office talk therapy sessions online. This type of platform allows you to attend sessions from home or anywhere else you have an internet connection. In addition, you may be able to choose between phone, video, and in-app messaging as ways to connect with your therapist. Since there’s no need to commute, it may be easier for some people to receive support for the effects of traumatic events.
Recover from trauma through online therapy
A growing body of research indicates that online therapy can be an effective form of treatment in many cases. For example, one study suggests that online CBT and EMDR sessions were as effective as in-person options in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, and clients saw a 55% average reduction in trauma symptoms after treatment.
Takeaway
What do people need to heal after trauma?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, healthy ways of coping can help reduce stress and improve well-being after a trauma. These may include avoiding drugs and alcohol, spending time with supportive friends and relatives, and maintaining routines for exercise, meals, and sleep. Practice self care or start an exercise routine to help reduce stress, set realistic goals, and seek professional help from a qualified mental health professional. If you find yourself in emotional distress for more than a short period of time after the traumatic event, you may need to seek mental health support.
How do you truly heal from trauma?
Everyone heals from trauma differently. It will affect one person's life much differently than it would someone else's, and there may be many paths to healing. Exercise can help improve symptoms and release endorphins, which can improve mood. Any physical activity, from walking to running to hiking to dancing, can be beneficial. Self-care and mindful meditation can also help reduce stress, which can help you along your healing journey.
It can also be helpful to acknowledge your feelings. Journaling can be a great way to get in touch with your emotions and process them as you move forward through traumatic events. Feeling and accepting your emotions can be an essential part of healing. Doing something creative, like drawing, writing, or painting, can help you identify and work through your emotions.
As you work through the healing process, avoid drugs and alcohol, as they can alter how your brain thinks and feels, which may hinder your progress. Recovering from trauma can be exhausting, so be kind to yourself and take breaks when you need them to recover your energy.
Accepting support can also be important. Whether you reach out to a loved one, a support group, or a professional mental health specialist, having a support system and being able to ask for help can encourage you to move forward in your healing.
What is the hardest part of healing from trauma?
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, trauma can affect anyone. Everyone’s journey is different, so there is no universal aspect of healing from trauma that is the hardest. Some of the ways that people deal with trauma that may be challenging to overcome include coping with intense emotions like anger, shame, fear, or sadness; overcoming numbness and the feeling of being detached from your thoughts, memories, and behaviors; dealing with sleep disturbances and hyperarousal; and coping with cognitive symptoms and thought process changes.
Does recovery or healing from trauma make you stronger?
It sounds cliche, but healing from trauma can make you stronger, likely from what you go through as you recover. People generally adapt well to life-changing situations over time; this can be called resilience. According to the American Psychiatric Association, healing from trauma may help you realize that, while the experience was painful, it does not have to determine the outcome of your life. Practicing resilience takes time, but increasing your resiliency can help improve your ability to weather future challenges.
Can you heal from trauma without therapy or counseling?
Most people experience trauma at some point in their life, and there are ways to cope. You can do many things to try to heal from trauma. Exercise can be beneficial as it can alleviate stress. Physical activity can also release endorphins, which can help improve your mood. Practicing self-care and mindfulness can help reduce stress and support healing.
Acknowledging how you feel can help you heal, and activities like journaling, writing, drawing, or playing music can help you identify and work through your emotions.
If you try these and other ways of healing from trauma and still have symptoms you need help working through, therapy can offer you the support you need to heal. Online therapy can be a good option for people who are hesitant to meet with a therapist face-to-face.
Can trauma heal on its own?
Trauma may not go away on its own. Avoiding dealing with a traumatic experience may lead to significant mental and physical health issues. The challenges that result from trauma that is not dealt with may make recovery harder in the long run.
Trauma recovery is possible, but it takes work. You may need to consult with a mental health expert in order to start the process. A professional therapist can teach you coping strategies to deal with the pain of the past, including emotional and physical reactions to trauma.
What happens when you don't deal with trauma?
If you don’t deal with trauma, it will likely continue affecting you in many ways. You may experience difficulty sleeping, flashbacks, nightmares, mood swings, or depression. Physical symptoms may appear, too, like headaches or body pains. People with unresolved trauma may have difficulty making decisions or concentrating and may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance use to cope.
For those who experience childhood trauma, military combat, or other forms of trauma, here are some of the possible repercussions of unresolved trauma:
- Intrusive thoughts of the trauma
- Physical sensations like headaches and muscle tension
- Hypervigilance or feeling like you’re always on high alert
- Engaging in risky behaviors
- Feeling ashamed or guilty
- Substance or alcohol misuse
How do you overcome trauma from abuse?
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, there are many things you can do to attempt to overcome trauma from abuse. The first is recognizing how trauma can affect you, including panic attacks, anxiety, flashbacks, eating disorders, experiencing self-hate, and low self-esteem.
Embracing positive affirmations can help you quiet your inner critic. Refocus your inner voice on positives to disrupt negative thoughts. Try telling yourself, “I am worthy” or “I am beautiful.”
Exercises like kickboxing, yoga, dancing, or running can help release tension caused by rage, hurt, and grief. Practice mindfulness and try to tap into your creativity by writing, drawing, painting, or making music which can help release the trauma and the negative thoughts associated with it.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk to a trusted friend or family member, join a group, or connect with a mental health professional online for one-on-one support.
How do you overcome unhealed trauma?
An excellent way to deal with unhealed trauma is to deal with it head-on. Depending on how the trauma affects you, you may be able to process it by doing many of the things mentioned previously, like exercising, self-care, or exploring your emotions through art or music. That said, unhealed trauma may be difficult to cope with alone. Working with a qualified therapist with experience with a trauma informed approach to treatment can help you deal with trauma from your past that you have yet to face.
Why is it important to overcome trauma?
Experiencing trauma may have many negative effects and prevent you from living your best life. If you don’t work through past trauma, it can lead to panic attacks, anxiety, flashbacks, and low self-esteem. People deal with trauma in many ways, including crying often, having nightmares, experiencing difficulty sleeping, worrying, isolating themselves from family and friends, and feeling anxious, sad, or fearful. You may experience physical symptoms, too, like headaches, digestive issues, sweating, racing heart rate, or being easily startled. These things may not disappear if you don’t work through your trauma.
Trauma such as childhood trauma or domestic violence can also hinder you from forming meaningful relationships in the future. You may have certain trauma triggers that cause you to experience an intense emotional response. This is normal, but the recovery process can help you manage this and other trauma symptoms.
You can learn techniques like deep breathing to help you calm your nervous system and manage emotional distress when you encounter triggers in everyday life. Learning to set healthy boundaries in a person’s relationships can also be an important part of recovery.
How does resilience help overcome trauma?
Different emotions can arise from traumatic experiences. Resilience enables a person to manage emotions healthily and adapt to changes. Resilience may also help people to develop a new sense of purpose in their day-to-day life after enduring challenging times.
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