Defining Our Trauma
“Unlike other forms of psychological disorders, the core issue in trauma is reality.” ― Bessel A. van der Kolk.
The reality is that most of us carry some sort of trauma. Trauma for some becomes a defining moment in their lives. Its role on the subconscious can be a subtle as avoiding certain locations, or as detrimental as self-harm and substance abuse. Domestic violence, accidents, stories of others trauma, physical pain, unwanted sexual advances are all forms of trauma we may experience in ours lives. These traumas in some way or another shape our personality, our ability or inability to cope, crisis responses, our ability to let others love us and so on.
Identifying Trauma
The need to properly identify traumas in our lives is to start the process of healing. This is because we need to face our past, understand how it has defined our life's path, and help set a course towards healing and becoming whole again. There is meaning in all of our lives events, and it is up to you to come to understand what that means to you, and how to go forward knowing that we can’t undo the past.
Role of Pharmaceuticals
For some they first try pharmaceuticals to help manage their issues. This for some may help, but when not used in conjunction with therapy, there can not be any true resolution. Medications can not solve trauma, it merely puts a parking brake on your racing mind. Pharmaceuticals dulls our natural sensations and can create a separation of the mind from the body. We no longer have the ability to tell what our triggers are, what may drive physical responses to internal and external stimuli, and ultimately rewires the brain to depend on something other than ourselves to achieve internal peace. This is no way to downplay the importance for some to utilize medication to help cope and better themselves. Medications are a bridge to peace, not a long term solution.
Language Has Consequences
Defining a problem as trauma is the first step, and this is often done through some sort of talk based therapy. The use of euphemistic language obscures the task of healing by side-stepping our problems and not addressing them head on. There is also the issue of using general diagnostic terms to have a stand in for our hidden truth. Just blanketly calling your anxiety, anxiety does not fully help an individual understand the depth of the problem, and ways in which it remains present in our lives today. Trauma frames our negative thoughts or actions in a manner that allows a more personal approach to counseling.
Owning Your Trauma
This sounds odd but it has huge meaning for those who are in therapy and are seeking internal peace and harmony. Being able to tell your story without hesitation, without fear of ridicule, and a forward thinking mind is what I mean by “owning your trauma”. Our mind is not disconnected from the past, it just sorts out files and picks and chooses how it wants to retrieve information. If allowed, trauma will define your life and never allow us to be whole. When we get to the point when we can have our trauma be front and center in our minds and not control our thoughts is when the healing begins. Being an advocate and helping others struggling gives us a sense of purpose from the oddest of places. But the beautiful thing about our mind and body is adaptation. Taking what was once broken, can then be utilized to fix others.
