Trauma is a change that happens without your choice.

  1. Healing is a change you actively choose.

  2. The healing process can be tough and messy.

  3. Dealing with trauma often means reliving difficult experiences.

  4. Trauma occurs when something overwhelms your ability to cope.

  5. It can fundamentally change you, affecting your body and mind.

  6. Healing can improve your relationship with yourself and help you live better.

  7. Remember: “If you don’t heal what hurt you, you’ll hurt others who didn’t cause it.”

  8. Trauma can show up physically as muscle tension, poor self-care, headaches, depression, sweating, increased anger, fatigue, sleep issues, and feeling constantly on edge.

PTSD and Trauma

Emotional Processing Theory explains that trauma creates a “fear structure” in our memory, which includes:

  1. Feared Stimuli: What we fear (e.g., encountering a bear).

  2. Fear Responses: Physical reactions (e.g., increased heart rate).

  3. Associated Meanings: The meanings we attach to both the fear and our reactions (e.g., bears are dangerous).

Key Points

  • Trauma can lead to unhelpful emotional responses or avoidance of harmless stimuli, making everyday life challenging.

  • Many survivors wish they could erase the trauma memory, but this isn’t possible.

  • Trauma-focused therapies can help reduce the emotional intensity tied to these memories, allowing survivors to reframe their experiences positively.

  • Survivors often find strength in recognizing their resilience during difficult times, which helps them engage with the world again.

Honoring Memories

Some survivors, like veterans, feel that moving past trauma might dishonor their fallen comrades. Therapists emphasize that trauma therapy doesn’t erase memories; it helps manage the distress linked to them.

Healing Process

To heal, survivors need to:

  1. Confront Trauma: Engage with memories and reminders of the trauma.

  2. Reframe Experiences: Understand that thinking about the trauma and related situations isn’t dangerous.

This approach allows survivors to realize they can cope with negative emotions and lead fulfilling lives despite their past experiences.