Whether someone drowns in 7 feet of water or 20 feet of water, that person is still drowned. This analogy is often used to demonstrate the impacts and effects of trauma, meaning that traumatic experiences happen to many of us and how you react and respond to those experiences will look differently. You should never compare your traumatic experience and how you cope afterwards to others, but instead, take the time and energy to learn how trauma affects you. For some folks, the impact of trauma manifests in the body. More specifically, people describe trauma “living” in parts of their body in that certain parts of the body are particularly tense and constricted or they become exhausted or ineffectual. For others, the way their mind responds to the trauma directly impacts their body; for example, through severe depression or anxiety. However the trauma manifests, it affects individuals in a variety of ways that make it difficult in their day-to-day functioning.
For those who have experienced trauma, sometimes the best place to start in the healing process is your body; meaning after something traumatic occurs, take some time and space doing activities that enable your body and your mind to heal. Some of the activities include:
Yoga or pilates
Meditation/mindfulness
Exercise
Individual therapy/counseling
Going on vacation or taking time off
Talking or spending time with a friend or family
Getting a massage
By taking care of your body, you can enable your body and mind to process what has happened. This not only will lower your overall stress and increase your general well-being, but will also help you gain greater control over your healing and your life.For more ideas on how you can take care of your body after experiencing a trauma, schedule an appointment with one of our therapists today!
For more information on the article that inspired this post, click here.
