What is needed to get through a traumatic event??
“How do we get to a healthy self? We Heal Thy Self…”
Let us begin…
Imagine, you had a traumatic situation in your life that is now affecting your everyday life. Your ability to get around, you job, your mood, your relationship(s), your self….
Now Imagine as if there was an old version of yourself you remember before this traumatic event, and this ‘New’ version of yourself after the traumatic event that is not what you signed up for and frankly you do not even like you at this time. Now the in-between is where you need help; you may think... where do I even start or who to go to? You may feel lost, feel as if others do not understand you and everything is getting hard.
Let us begin with what trauma is, what the process of traumatic healing may look like and what going through it can do for your mental, physical and emotional well-being.
The more you push away your feelings, the more it will fester and build inside to come out in areas of your life in unexpected times.
The Need:
What we need is to understand why we are feeling these things, understand how this traumatic experience/ event affected us, how our everyday is being affected too, and how the future looks moving forward.
How does a person who has trauma change? What happens when we have a traumatic event occur in our lives?.....
Trauma is an event or situation that threatens your own life or someone else’s you witnessed. Dr. Peter Levine, a trauma expert, says that trauma is an incomplete biological response to a threat that's frozen in time. It's not the event itself that causes trauma, but the body's response to the perceived threat. The bodies of traumatized people portray "snapshots" of their unsuccessful attempts to defend themselves in the face of threat and injury.
"For example, when we prepare to fight or to flee, muscles throughout our entire body are tensed in specific patterns of high energy readiness. When we are unable to complete the appropriate actions, we fail to discharge the tremendous energy generated by our survival preparations. This energy becomes fixed in specific patterns of neuromuscular readiness. The person then stays in a state of acute and then chronic arousal and dysfunction in the central nervous system. Traumatized people are not suffering from a disease in the normal sense of the word- they have become stuck in an aroused state. It is difficult if not impossible to function normally under these circumstances.”― Peter A. Levine
In other words, Trauma occurs not from the threatening event itself but from your body's stuck response to the threat, which can leave you in a constant state of alertness and dysfunction. Dr. Peter Levine describes this as the body holding onto intense survival energy that it wasn't able to release at the moment of danger.
SO what do we do now?
We do the work related and understand what is happening in our body’s, What trauma reaction’s we are in that are unhealthy, how we navigate and process what has happened with a professional supportive setting.
What we may experience through reaction coping…..
They may have Trauma arousal with danger and fear: Meaning they go and do things that are out of ordinary, to get thrill above their arousal state. Examples include: Speeding, drugs, high risk taking, high risk sexual encounters, thrill seeking.
They may have Trauma blocking or numbness: This is where we are in denial of the actual event, black it out, avoid places or doing things, or even feel nothing at all. Examples include: Binge watching TV, excessive eating or working or sleeping and more. Always in the need to be ‘doing something’.
Trauma Splitting: Thus occurs when you space out, not integrate or work through trauma, dissociation, day dreaming, always falling in love/ moving from one partner to the next, extreme procrastination.
To change these happens of unhealthy coping mechanisms we much look inward, building healthy coping mechanisms and tools to help regulate, talking about the incident to process it to not have control over your life and nervous system, while integrating and processing the feelings behind it all. Lately, we go into re- establishment of life, how your ‘new self’ looks moving forward and re-establishing healthy relationships and support.
Stages of healing through Trauma:
Yes there are three key things to consider when healing through traumatic events and these have been through research and introduced by Dr. Judy Herman.
1) Stabilization: Establishing safety and stabilization first. With tools and coping mechanisms.
2) Talk through: Which creates space to morn and process what happened.
3) Re-establish relationships: Which now integrate what you have processed, learned and allow support.
Yes, this seems a bit simplified, however the bones of it are solid. Each step is not rushed and takes time moving through to really ‘get it’ or move through it.
Lets start with the most important step of Stabilization, where with this step you learn to tools to navigate through helping you talk and morn in safe way.
We must address the trauma, which involves establishing safety and stabilization. Traumatized individuals often feel unsafe both internally—struggling with uncontrolled body, mind, and emotions—and externally, where their environment may remind them of past threats or trigger involuntary reactions. The goal in this phase is to identify immediate improvements and achieve stabilization, both in their surroundings and within themselves. This helps the person feel less vulnerable and more capable of managing daily life, which is crucial for progressing to the next phase of therapy without dropping out.
The second phase of trauma recovery is about processing the traumatic events. This stage involves remembering and mourning what occurred and understanding its effects. During this time, individuals express their emotions, revisit their memories of the event, and mourn any losses caused by the trauma. Therapists assist by identifying how the trauma disrupted the individual's beliefs and values about themselves, others, and the world. They also help the individual reinterpret these events to establish new beliefs and values. This phase is crucial for integrating the traumatic memories into their life story, allowing them to reframe and make sense of the past in a way that aids healing.
The final phase of trauma therapy focuses on re-integration, where individuals develop a new sense of identity, perception of the world, and outlook on their future. This stage is characterized by post-traumatic growth, as individuals start defining themselves not by the trauma they experienced, but by who they are having survived it. Typically, they feel stronger and regain control over their lives. This newfound strength and perspective empower them to make choices that support their ongoing recovery and well-being.
While most trauma-focused therapies adhere to a three-stage process, the second stage—processing the trauma—is particularly crucial and can be tailored to the individual's needs. For instance, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (tf-CBT) involves a detailed, frame-by-frame recollection of events, emphasizing sensory details, while integrative psychotherapy allows for a more client-led approach. This latter method explores underlying factors that contribute to the current trauma response, focusing on the individual’s world view, beliefs, and needs. The aim is not just to reduce symptoms but to enhance overall functioning and improve mental, physical, and emotional health.
Let’s meet Alex..
Alex, experienced a traumatic car crash that profoundly affected their life. Initially, Alex felt unsafe both internally and externally. Internally, because their body and emotions felt out of control, and externally, because the world now seemed unpredictable and threatening. This led Alex to develop a trauma response of avoiding driving or traveling in cars, significantly impacting their daily routines, job, and social interactions.
Step 1: Stabilization Alex's counseling began with establishing a sense of safety. The therapist worked with Alex to develop coping mechanisms, such as grounding techniques and structured routines, to help manage acute stress symptoms. This phase was crucial for Alex to feel secure enough to address deeper trauma aspects without feeling overwhelmed.
Step 2: Processing Trauma In the processing phase, Alex worked through the memories of the crash. This involved recounting the event with the therapist and expressing the emotions tied to it—fear, anger, and sadness. Through techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Alex learned to challenge and change harmful thought patterns about the crash, reducing its emotional power over them.
Step 3: Re-integration and Growth Finally, in the re-integration phase, Alex began to redefine their identity beyond the trauma. They cultivated a new sense of self, focusing on their resilience and growth following the crash. This phase helped Alex make meaning of the crash's impact and integrate it into their life story positively. They started driving short distances again, gradually regaining confidence and control over their life.
Through these stages, Alex moved from feeling victimized by their trauma to a place of strength and post-traumatic growth, where they not only returned to their pre-trauma functioning but also gained new insights and a greater appreciation for life. This transformative journey illustrates the importance of processing trauma—it's not merely about coping but about growing stronger and more resilient in the aftermath.
The journey through therapy should be safe and paced according to what the individual finds manageable. It’s important to recognize that trauma recovery is a personal process that takes time, and progresses as the individual feels ready. This thoughtful progression through therapy not only helps in healing but also fosters post-traumatic growth, allowing individuals to emerge not defined by their past trauma, but enriched by their resilience and renewed self-concept. This highlights the significance of processing trauma—it's not just about coping better but about transforming and growing stronger from the experience.
Control the trauma, don't let the trauma control you,
References:
Herman, J. (1997). Trauma and recovery. 1992. New York: Basic.
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