Trauma is Personal

Has there been an experience or loss that is negatively showing up in your life today?

Trauma is personal. What may be traumatic for one person may not be trauma for another. What is important is knowing that it matters to you. Trauma can be a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that causes ongoing suffering. Things become traumatic when what is experienced exceeds one’s ability to cope and properly process. The impacts then show up in how we perceive our world and others around us. Trauma can result from physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse (yes, it can be just as powerful), sudden loss, or a traumatic event witnessed. The impacts of trauma can wreak havoc on your system. They are shared in the body and can result in changes in the brain. The event may have passed, but your mind and body may react as if the threat is still imminent. You can heal and recover.

Signs you may be suffering from trauma

• You often reflect on childhood experiences and it prevents you from enjoying life as an adult.

• You have a hard time trusting or being vulnerable with others.

• You avoid certain people, places, or situations that remind you of the trauma.

• You are triggered by things that are seemingly insignificant to others.

• You experienced or witnessed a traumatic event.

• You’re experiencing guilt, shame, or self blame for how you are responding to things.