If you've experienced trauma, it may be affecting your life in more ways than you realize.

There are many different types of traumatic events: sexual assault, violent relationships, grief, loss, bad breakups, childhood neglect and abandonment, and more.

Trauma inevitably takes a certain toll on your mental health, but have you ever considered all of the ways that it affects your life on a daily basis? You may experience physical symptoms or work hard to repress your trauma only to never really process it. Or perhaps you have issues with anger management but don't know why, or you may even suffer from PTSD.

Whatever your particular case may be, trauma can easily become all-consuming and affect your entire life.

Avoiding and Stuffing Your Pain

A common way that people deal with trauma is by repressing it. If you've experienced a childhood event that emotionally affected you, you may try to avoid thinking about it in your adulthood. You may find yourself minimizing and even denying what has happened to you.Not addressing painful feelings can lead to a build-up of emotional stress that significantly impacts mental and physical health.

When you choose to stuff these feelings away, they may experience increased anxiety, depression, or even physical symptoms such as headaches and fatigue. Acknowledging and expressing emotions is crucial because it allows for processing and healing. By confronting rather than avoiding painful feelings, you can develop healthier coping strategies, promote self-awareness, and enhance their overall well-being. It’s important to create a space where emotions can be validated and explored, ultimately leading to a more fulfilling life.

Emotional triggers related to PTSD can deeply affect both your mental and emotional well-being. When you experience a trigger, it can transport you back to a traumatic moment, evoking feelings of fear, anxiety, or helplessness. Recognizing these triggers is the first step toward healing. It's essential to understand how they impact your daily life, relationships, and overall sense of safety. Ignoring or suppressing these emotions can lead to further complications, including depression or isolation. By acknowledging your triggers and their effects, you can begin to explore coping strategies that work for you, such as therapy, mindfulness practices, or support groups. Healing is a journey that requires patience and self-compassion, but addressing these emotional triggers is vital for reclaiming your life and fostering resilience over time.However, avoiding your trauma actually can prolong your suffering and pain. 

Physical Symptoms of Trauma

Many people tend to think that trauma only affects its survivors mentally or emotionally. In reality, trauma can cause many physical symptoms.

You may experience trouble sleeping, digestive issues, or general body aches and pains. It's easy to write these symptoms off or assume that they don't have any correlation to your trauma, when in fact, they're very intimately related.Your body holds memories in ways that go beyond what you can consciously recall. When you experience trauma, whether it's a single event or a series of stressful situations, your body can encode those experiences in various physical forms. This is often referred to as somatic memory.

You may find that certain emotions manifest as tightness in your chest or stomach, or perhaps you experience chronic pain without a clear medical cause. These are responses that signal how deeply your body has felt the impact of those traumatic moments. Your muscles, organs, and even your nervous system can become a repository for these memories, often reacting long after the event has passed.

When faced with reminders of trauma, you might experience physical symptoms like increased heart rate, sweating, or trembling. These reactions are not just emotional—they’re physical expressions of what your body remembers. For you, situations that trigger these responses may feel overwhelming, leading to anxiety, panic attacks, or feelings of being out of control.

Understanding that your body is holding this trauma can be the first step in healing. By acknowledging these physical sensations and their connection to past experiences, you can begin to explore ways to address them. Therapies that incorporate body awareness, such as yoga, somatic experiencing, or even mindfulness practices, can help you reconnect with your physical self and gently release the tension that has built up over time.

It's important to remember that you are not alone in this experience. Many people struggle with the ways their bodies respond to trauma. Taking the step to understand and work through these sensations can ultimately lead to healing and a greater sense of well-being.

EFFECTS OF PTSD

Of course, trauma does affect your mental well-being. In fact, it can certainly lead to severe anxiety or depression.

It can also lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which causes painful memories and flashbacks for its survivors. These triggers can happen in everyday life, suddenly, and without warning. Loud noises, memories, and seeing people or things that remind you of your trauma can all cause a PTSD flashback. Living with PTSD can feel overwhelming and isolating. For many, the persistent flashbacks, nightmares, and heightened anxiety can make daily life a constant struggle. Simple tasks that once felt manageable may now trigger intense stress or fear. Relationships can suffer as well, as individuals may withdraw from loved ones, unsure of how to communicate their feelings or experiences.

The sense of safety that many take for granted can feel shattered, leading to a world that seems unpredictable and threatening. This emotional turmoil often leads to a cycle of avoidance, where people might steer clear of situations that remind them of their trauma, further deepening their sense of loneliness and despair. The impact of PTSD extends beyond the individual, affecting family dynamics, friendships, and community connections.

Anger and Self-Blame

Survivors of trauma often blame themselves for what happened. Even when there was a clear perpetrator, survivors tend to think that there was something they could've done differently to prevent the incident.

Perhaps, you also feel angry or frustrated with yourself over the fact that your trauma affects you so deeply. To move forward, you must stop blaming yourself. What happened to you was not your fault—and as a survivor, you have a right to be upset or angry.

And as a survivor, you have the choice to address your pain, anger, fear, and shame, and no longer give it the power to run your life. Experiencing trauma can lead to complex emotions, often leaving us with feelings of self-blame and intense anger. It's common to replay events in our minds, wondering what we could have done differently or how we might have prevented the pain. This internal dialogue can foster a toxic cycle of guilt, making us feel as though we are somehow responsible for what happened

. Alongside this self-blame, anger may surface—not just towards others or the situation itself, but also directed inward. This anger can manifest as frustration with ourselves for not being able to cope better, or for feeling weak in the aftermath. Acknowledging these feelings is an important step in the healing process, allowing individuals to understand that, while it’s normal to struggle with these emotions, taking responsibility for trauma that was imposed upon us is neither fair nor necessary.

Healing Is a Process That Takes Time and Patience

If you're living with trauma, you know just how difficult it is to carry such a burden. Furthermore, you understand that it's not just something you can simply get over.

Trauma is complex, and it affects everyone a little bit differently. Because of this, it's important to be kind, understanding, and patient with yourself when trying to heal from trauma. It takes time, dedication, and courage to be able to face your trauma and take steps to move forward.

If you've been carrying around the burden of trauma, know that you can find hope for the future.

You may have experienced deep wounding due to your trauma and now believe that your wounds are a big part of your identity. As you begin to address these painful places, you can start to come back to life and no longer define yourself by your wounds of the past. As this process takes place, you can become hopeful about your future.

The right trauma therapist can guide and direct you through this healing process. And be your witness as you share those difficult, painful memories. Finding the right therapist who really “gets it,” and with whom you develop trust can greatly help you take steps toward moving forward with hope and wholeness. Give me a call so we can begin this amazing healing journey

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