Five Of The Best Ways To Deal With Trauma
Thursday, January 09, 2025
Trauma can leave a huge impact on our lives, disrupting our every day and making it incredibly difficult to look to the future with any kind of hope or optimism. It can cause serious mental health conditions and leave us with nowhere to turn.
Trauma can manifest itself in all manner of forms, with the acute mental health condition potentially stemming from one single event or more prolonged experiences. For example, many people live with post traumatic stress disorder due to experiences in the army, or abuse as a child. Others may struggle to deal with an accident that may have occured. Essentially, everyone is different but there are effective coping mechanisms for everyone too and while every recovery journey is unique there are certain strategies that have been shown to help people more than others.
So, if you are struggling with trauma, here are five considerations to help you combat it…
Seek Professional Support
Of course, the first step anyone who’s living with trauma should take is seeking professional support. There’s so many options for support out there, from visiting a specialist hospital to fully focus on entering recovery or by seeking regular therapy. Here you can explore thoughts and feelings, process your trauma and develop coping mechanisms to get your life back on track.
There are various types of therapy that can help deal with trauma, including the likes of cognitive behavioural therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing and somatic experiencing. Some work better for people than others so it’s all about seeking professional advice and support to not only start the treatment and recovery process, but also finding the right type of treatment to suit your needs. Reaching out to your GP or a mental health professional can help get this process started.
Build a Support Network
You should never go through trauma alone. It can often feel an isolating experience but a supportive network around you can really combat that. It could be family members and friends that provide you with comfort and understanding or you could look to find a support group that’s dedicated to people who are going through similar types of trauma as you.
Being surrounded by those going through the same challenges can really help reduce feelings of isolation, as well as providing advice and encouragement. They’re brilliant for helping you through the dark times, while you can help others too. Essentially, you’ll become a part of this little community that all helps each other.
Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
Trauma often causes heightened stress and anxiety, making it difficult to feel calm and grounded. Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can help regulate emotions and reduce the impact of trauma-related triggers. Techniques to consider include:
- Deep Breathing: Simple breathing exercises can calm the nervous system and reduce anxiety in moments of distress.
- Meditation: Mindfulness meditation encourages individuals to focus on the present moment, helping to break free from intrusive memories.
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation: This technique involves tensing and relaxing muscle groups to release physical tension associated with stress.
Practising these techniques regularly can enhance emotional resilience and create a sense of control over your responses to stress.
Engage in Physical Activity
Physical activity can play a significant role in trauma recovery by reducing stress, improving mood, and helping the body release pent-up tension. Exercise stimulates the production of endorphins, the body’s natural mood elevators, which can counteract feelings of sadness or anxiety.
Gentle activities such as walking, yoga, or swimming can be particularly effective for trauma survivors, as they encourage a focus on the body and its movements. For some, more intense forms of exercise, such as running or cycling, may also be cathartic. Finding an activity that feels enjoyable and sustainable is key to maintaining its benefits over time.
Express Yourself Creatively
Creative expression can be a powerful outlet for processing trauma, providing a way to explore and release emotions that might feel too difficult to verbalise. Artistic activities such as painting, drawing, or writing can offer a therapeutic escape, helping individuals gain insight into their experiences.
Writing in a journal, for instance, can help organise thoughts and emotions, while music or dance allows for expression through movement and sound. Creative therapies, such as art therapy or drama therapy, guided by professionals, are also excellent tools for exploring trauma in a supportive setting.