Posted by Everyone experiences varying degrees of stress and trauma, both large and small. Trauma can be caused by a variety of life events, including ongoing chronic stress, medical issues, natural disasters, job loss, divorce, and other difficulties.
What is trauma?
Trauma is defined by the American Psychological Association as an emotional reaction to a stressful event. People experience shock and denial following a traumatic event. Trauma can cause intense emotions, physical symptoms, flashbacks, and relationship problems in the long run. To learn more about trauma, you may consult with an best Clinical Psychologist.
Fortunately, there are healthy ways to deal with a crisis and get through it.
Concentrate on What Matters
It is critical to focus your resources when dealing with the aftermath of a crisis. Simply getting through the day is an accomplishment, so reducing your responsibilities to do so should be a priority.
Ordering take-out instead of preparing meals is an example of how you can save resources. This allows you to reduce your shopping and cooking time, put off unnecessary commitments, and focus solely on what is truly necessary to conserve your physical and emotional energy.
Locate Help
If others are aware of your trauma, they will almost certainly offer to assist you; now is the time to accept their offer. Allow your loved ones to lighten your load by assisting with tasks or lending a sympathetic ear. You can return the favour when you’re ready and they need something.
Reduce Your Stress Reaction
When you are in a crisis (or when someone close to you is in a crisis), your body’s stress response may be triggered and remain triggered, keeping you in a constant state of stress.
It may be difficult to feel “relaxed” in the midst or aftermath of a crisis, but stress relief techniques can help you reduce the intensity of your stress levels, reverse your stress response, and feel more resilient in the face of what comes next. Guided imagery, yoga, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation are all effective relaxation techniques.
Process Your Emotions
Whether you write in a journal, talk to a close friend, or see a therapist, it’s critical to put your experience into words in order to better integrate it.
You may be tempted to ignore your feelings as you move through the crisis for fear of ‘wallowing’ too much and becoming ‘stuck,’ but processing your feelings allows you to move through them and let them go.
Concentrate on Self-Care
Eat a healthy diet, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and do other things to keep your body functioning at its best to avoid exacerbating your problems.
It is also important to comfort yourself when you are stressed or overwhelmed. Going for a short walk, writing in a gratitude journal, meditating, or relaxing with a weighted blanket can all help to foster positive feelings, which can help boost resilience and mental strength.
Experiment with Accepting Your Feelings.
Painful and difficult emotions can be frightening, but learning to accept and tolerate them can be beneficial. Emotional acceptance emphasises the importance of allowing such feelings to exist and recognising that they cannot harm you rather than rejecting, denying, or suppressing them.
Rather than rejecting or being overwhelmed by your feelings, acceptance allows you to focus on dealing with them in healthy or productive ways. This will not only help you understand your emotions better, but it will also help you regulate them more effectively.
Pay Attention to Your Senses
Grounding yourself in the present moment can help reduce feelings of anxiety and fear when you are overwhelmed by distressing feelings or thoughts.
You might find the following physical grounding techniques useful:
- Touching or picking up a nearby object and concentrating on its texture, colour, shape, and feel
- Taking slow, deep, controlled breaths and concentrating on your breathing
- Taking a bite of food or a sip of a beverage while focusing on the flavour, texture, and feel of the food or drink
- Observing your surroundings, including the sights and sounds of people, birds, animals, weather, and other objects
The grounding method of 5-4-3-2-1 can also be useful. This strategy entails making a list of everything you see around you, beginning with five and working your way down to one. For example, you could list five things that you can see, four things that you can hear, three things that you can touch, two things that you can smell, and one thing that you can taste.
Experiment with Creative Exploration.
Trauma can also be dealt with through the arts and creative expression. This approach suggests that artistic methods can aid in healing and promote mental well-being.
Art therapy has been shown in studies to be effective in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Another study discovered that art therapy was associated with significant reductions in trauma and depression symptoms in adults who had experienced a traumatic event.
You could experiment with creative expression on your own. Colouring, drawing, finger painting, sculpting, painting, and photography are some strategies you could try. You could also seek help from a mental health professional who is familiar with this approach to therapy.
Use Deep Breathing
Deep breathing can be a very effective tool for dealing with anxiety and stress. This method, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, entails taking deep breaths from the diaphragm rather than shallow breaths from the chest.
People often take rapid, shallow breaths when stressed, which increases the body’s anxiety response. Taking slower, deeper breaths helps to calm the body and induce relaxation.
Maintain a Routine
When dealing with traumatic events in your life, sticking to a routine can help you protect your mental health. When life feels chaotic, this routine can help you maintain focus and control.
According to research, such routines can help people manage their stress and anxiety levels. Maintaining some sense of structure can also assist you in taking better care of yourself and your health as you face the challenges of life.
Concentrate on What You Can Control
When dealing with trauma, you may feel helpless or powerless, which can be both overwhelming and terrifying. One way to combat this is to concentrate on what you can control.
When you shift your focus away from things you have no control over or cannot change, you can better focus your energy on things you can control that may help improve your situation. As you deal with stressors in your life, this can help you feel more empowered and resilient.
Understand When to Seek Assistance
Even after several weeks, if you continue to have intrusive thoughts and feelings, have recurring nightmares, or are unable to move through your life as you should because of your reaction to the trauma, you should speak with a professional about your situation to ensure you’re getting the help you need.
Even if you don’t have any major issues but think it might be a good idea to talk to someone, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Treatments that work can help you feel better and get back on track. Feel free to consult to an Best Psychologist near me, who will talk to you on trauma and will make you feel better.