Childhood Trauma and Self-care in Adulthood
For starters, thank you for being here. As I continue my mission to retrace the last days of Dian Fossey in my upcoming book, Voices from the Mist, an underlying theme keeps surfacing. Dian experienced trauma during childhood, as many of us have. She felt betrayed by those who were supposed to love and protect her. Awareness of the source of our trauma gives us the opportunity to make more healthy choices. There is a process of recovery. I've learned how to become aware of trauma, choose my response to it, and manage it.
Awareness
Moving through adulthood with awareness is like a prism throwing light on previously hidden corners of our mind. When you realize you’ve experienced trauma it’s a feat of awareness in itself. When you see how you suffer from it, is another. When you make conscious choices to move past it, yet another. Many people remember their childhood trauma, but for some, the only way to function is to forget. The brain does this on its own, as a coping mechanism.
Trauma
If we can identify how we feel about that persistent inner voice of being unwanted, unloved, neglected, abandoned, we become aware of how it drags us down. These are ingrained, habitual, hard-wired emotions, difficult to recognize. We can't begin to heal if we don't see a problem in the first place. For me, awareness is like someone throwing a bucket of ice in my face. Oh wow, I can change that!
Breaking the Cycle of Trauma
Once a traumatic event occurs, we may initially feel numb, alone, and even “crazy.” If we can talk about it with a trusted individual, we can express our anger and other feelings. Once we are able to release the built-up tension, we can calm down, gather information to help us move forward and put healthy habits into practice.
Self-Care Solutions
As a testament to the healing process, I've learned more about how to cope with my childhood trauma in the last two to three years than ever before. It’s what happened to me. It does not define me. If we recognize we're hurt, we can learn to forgive ourselves and others and move through the trauma instead of getting stuck in it.
Self-care is effective for changing course from trauma to healing. If you haven't tried it, there are countless ways to give yourself the love and attention you deserve to help manage past trauma. I've included some resources below to get you started. Good luck on your healing journey and thank you for joining me on mine.
Healing Intense Emotional Pain & Trauma
275 Self-Care Ideas & Activities to Deal With Life (2021)
Be Your Own Hero
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