How to Heal from Trauma
If you’ve dealt with trauma recently, you may worry that you are going to feel down indefinitely. The truth is that it can take some time to be fully healthy and happy gain. However, there are numerous things that you can do to heal from trauma. The first step is knowing that you have the power to make your journey effective and successful, but that doesn’t mean you have to go at it alone. Here at Midwood, we want to help you overcome and work through trauma and any other related issues.
Accepting Support
One of the best things you can do for yourself when you have experienced a traumatic event is to accept support. You don’t have to try getting past the trauma or through this process on your own. There are many people in your life that may want to help you to heal. Even if you don’t have a lot of people who can help you, you certainly aren’t alone. You can always reach out to support groups and treatment center professionals such as the ones we have right here at Midwood. The most important thing is to change your mindset from one of loneliness to that of reaching out for and accepting help.
Getting the Right Type of Help
You are also going to want to get the right type of help for what you are going through. For example, if you find it better to talk to someone about what you have experienced, you may find therapy to be the most beneficial. If you find that exercise helps you to overcome negative emotions related to a post-traumatic stress disorder, you may find fitness therapy or other versions of exercise to be the best. You can also get a combination of treatments and sources of support. If you want to know more about the different ways that our Midwood treatment team can help you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us today.
Connecting with Others Who Understand
Whether you or a loved one decide to go to support groups centered around PTSD or CPTSD or attend a mental health treatment center, it is a good idea to connect with others who understand. These may be others who have experienced trauma or someone who knows another person who went through a traumatic experience. It could also be a professional who is trained in treating mental health disorders.
Getting Exercise or Physically Moving Around More Often
Studies have shown that exercise and physical activity help to relieve PTSD or childhood trauma-related symptoms. In addition to helping with these symptoms, physical activity and exercise fill the body with endorphins and other feel-good chemicals.
Don’t really enjoy working out? That isn’t a problem. You can do something physically active instead such as riding a bike, rollerblading, yoga, dancing or anything that gets you moving around.
It may seem as if exercise is only going to help with your physical health. However, many studies show that phsyical activity, whether that be exercising or something else, do help tremendously with improving mental health.
Go Along with Your Feelings
When someone struggles with PTSD, they often experience a range of feelings from pain to anger to feeling okay. If you are like many others who struggle with trauma, you may fight against the feelings you experience. However, it is impotant to let all these feelings flow and move along with them. The more you accept them and let them happen, the easier they will be to pass on through. This doesn’t mean you won’t have any negative feelings. However, through journaling on your feelings and/or talking to professionals such as the ones we have here at Midwood, that can make things so much better as your feelings flow.
Practicing Self-Care
It is a known fact that self-care lowers stress levels. However, you may be wondering what exactly is self-care? There are so many people who have been traumatized that struggle with loving themselves, feeling good or just being happy ovevrall. If this is the case for you, regular self-care can make all the difference. Some of the self-care techniques that you may want to use include:
- Doing yoga
- Mediating
- Practicing art
- Journaling
- Taking a hot bath
- Doing nothing (just sit and be)
- Venting
- Going on a walk
- Going through EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)
These are just a few self-care ideas for how to overcome feelings related to physical and emotional trauma. If you are struggling with practicing self-care due to flashbacks or other trauma-related issues, it may be a good idea to attend a mental health treatment center. Here at Midwood, we can help you or your family member to work through any feelings you are experiencing by practicing self-care and other techniques, too.
Avoiding Drugs and Alcohol
Studies show that a majority of those who struggle with PTSD or other types of trauma do have a substance abuse disorder or addiction. When going through a traumatic experience and the aftermath, it can be tough to work through all the pieces of what happened. Then, you may struggle even more when dealing with the feelings associated with the trauma.
These things can be extremely hard as you may already know. However, drugs and alcohol are only going to make them worse. You are going to experience a lot of negative physical symptoms in addition to emotional and mental health symptoms. If you have fallen into addiction and need co-occurring disorder treatment help, please contact us here at Midwood today.
Taking Breaks and Getting the Rest You Need
When you are going through the psychological trauma healing process, you may find that you are fatigued and sleepy a lot more than you usually are. You may also have a lot of physical energy like you always want to go, go, go. However, your mind may not be functioning as well as it could be. The primary reason for this is that healing from traumatic memories and experiences takes a lot of a person’s energy.
One of the best things you can do if you are dealing with fatigue or tiredness as a result of PTSD is to be kind to yourself. You should also get the breaks and rest you need. Even if the break just consists of spending an extra 5 minutes in the shower, that can make a huge difference on your day. Even if you sleep in for an extra 30 minutes or take a small nap in the afternoon, that can help you to feel somewhat better and improve your overall well-being, as well.
Practicing Meditation or Other Mindfulness Techniques
There are so many different mindfulness techniques that are person can try. One of the most common ones is meditation. This is a method in which you are being aware of each moment and living in the present. You focus on each feeling and thought without fighting against it. Just accept it for what it is and let yourself be. Breathwork is a huge part of mindfulness. If you believe you would need help learning how to meditate or do breathwork, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Midwood treatment team. Our professionals can work with you in a treatment program to help you learn and stick with various mindfulness techniques.
Get Help Healing from Trauma Starting Today
It might feel overwhelming trying to heal from trauma. However, it is important to know that there are numerous treatment and healing options available to you. Cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, deep breathing and many other healing options to help you overcome the effects of trauma. If you use the tips mentioned above, you will be well on your way to feeling better and overcoming the trauma. If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us here at Midwood mental health center today.