If you’ve ever been unfortunate to go through a highly stressful event, you’ve been through a traumatic experience. Trauma comes in many shapes and forms and will impact different people in different ways.
While some individuals have coping mechanisms that allow them to deal with it, others can be deeply affected by what they’ve been through, and it can plague them for the rest of their lives.
There is no shame in that. Feelings of helplessness, horror, anxiety, and, in some cases, the challenge of overcoming physical severe injury are all common results of trauma.
The challenge, then, is overcoming trauma. Thankfully, there are many different ways in which you can try and battle through the experience and return to living a normal and happy life.
Talk to friends and family
Don’t isolate yourself from the world. The temptation can be to shut yourself off and try and deal with trauma in your way, but this can often lead to making the problem far worse. Talk to friends and family about what you are thinking and feeling. The release alone of letting everything out can lift a huge weight from your shoulders, and you might even find that they’ve been through a similar experience and can help guide and support you on your own.
Seek professional help
Mental health issues are on the rise in America, and it’s estimated that one in five American adults will experience a diagnosable mental health disorder in a given year. That means an increasing number of psychiatrists and psychologists can help you, many of whom will be covered by medical insurance.
The stress that comes with a traumatic event can be crippling, in which case seeking the help of a professional to overcome it’s a vital step to getting your life back in order. They will listen to you, advise you, and ultimately prescribe medication if it is needed.
Join a support group
Talking to people who have had a similar experience can help you work through the problem. As a result, countless different support groups across America deal with various specific topics. Chances are that whatever your traumatic event, other people have experienced similar and are supporting and advising each other through it all.
Get compensation
Money won’t solve all your problems, but receiving a payout that confirms that you weren’t at fault for anything you went through can reaffirm that you are the victim of all this. Whether the incident has left you with a physical injury that has affected your ability to work or earn, or if it has left you in such a fragile mental state that you’ve lost income, you can potentially seek monetary compensation for what you’ve lost. The first step toward doing that is contacting an attorney such as https://www.warforindy.com/, who can advise you on whether you have grounds for a claim and what happens next.
Listen to what your body is telling you
Your body will often let you know what it needs to heal. If you feel tired, then rest. The stress of a traumatic experience can make it difficult to sleep properly, so look at proven ways to get a good night’s sleep to help yourself recover.
Ensure you eat right; a healthy body will lead to a healthy mind. If you want fresh air, head out for a walk. If you feel lonely, go out and socialize with friends, whether for dinner or a trip to the cinema. Whatever makes you feel good, make the time to treat yourself to doing it.
Stay away from alcohol
A drink might help you to escape or numb the pain of the traumatic experience you’ve been through, but it isn’t the answer. In the short term, pushing it all away by masking your feelings with alcohol might feel like it’s working, but you aren’t confronting the real issue. That can lead to alcohol or drug dependency down the line as the only way you see being able to cope is by reaching for the bottle, leading to even more problems.
Face up to what has happened
You might be faced with reminders of the traumatic event, which trigger feelings of dread and fear, which can cripple you for the rest of your life. To overcome that, you have to confront what occurred and accept it. As tempting as it may be to want to forget about the event by burying it in the past or trying to forget it ever happened, a critical stage in recovery is to face up to what occurred and accept it. Only then can you truly move on and escape the trauma.
