How to deal with trauma? 5 useful tips

Several tips and strategies to know how to fight and overcome trauma.

Combating psychological trauma is complex, but far from impossible. In fact, it is part of the usual psychotherapy process, and nowadays there are several intervention programs and strategies that help to achieve persistent effects in the long term.

In this article we will review various tips on how to combat trauma, or rather, to overcome it.or rather, to overcome it.

What is psychological trauma?

The psychological trauma is an emotional and behavioral alteration that forms part of the sequels of a painful event that a person has gone through. that a person has gone through. This kind of events may have to do with a situation in which physical violence or an accident that endangered the physical integrity of someone occurred (and in fact, these characteristics are very frequent), but it can also be the case that the harmful is more abstract and subtle, and does not involve physical Pain or injuries, bruises...

In practice, psychological trauma can be defined as the emotional "mark" that these situations left in the memory system of the person who develops this alteration. These psychological sequelae can remain latent or "dormant" for some time and, at some point, begin to manifest themselves and prevent the person from having a good quality of life.

The symptoms through which the trauma manifests itself tend to be linked to an excess of anxiety.Although this alteration is not part of the category of anxiety disorders (in which we find phobias, panic attacks, generalized anxiety and other similar psychopathologies).

It is also frequent that feelings of guilt arise: many people feel responsible for suffering this problem, even if they have been traumatized by experiences in which they were the victims (mistreatment, sexual abuse in childhood...).

As with all psychological disorders in general, trauma can be present in varying degrees, the trauma may be present in varying degrees of intensity, and in the most severe casesIn the most severe cases, it may even be accompanied by dissociative symptoms. For example, these occur when the person loses awareness of the time and place in which he/she is when evoking memories linked to the trauma.

5 keys to combat and overcome trauma

Fortunately, trauma is an experience that can be overcome. Below you will find some of the key ideas on how to do it, although you must keep in mind that each case has its particularities.

1. Go to therapy

The first piece of advice is that it is essential to attend therapy. Trauma is a sufficiently serious disorder to seek professional help and not to underestimate its destructive capacity.

Psychotherapy and medicine provide tools that help the patient both to mitigate the discomfort generated by the symptoms of trauma and to overcome this condition, giving it a resolution. Thus, intervention programs set short and long term goals.

In addition, it is important it is important that once you start the treatment you are constant going to the sessions and do not interrupt it when you notice that you feel a little better. Falling into this error can cause that in a matter of days or a few weeks you lose much of the progress made, since they have not yet been "fixed" at all in your way of managing emotions and interacting with the environment.

On the other hand, as the doctors and psychologists who take your case will know better the characteristics of your individual problem, in the case that their indications enter in contradiction with lists of general advice like this one, you must give more value to their word.

2. Do not try to block those memories

If you become obsessed with trying to leave out of your consciousness those intrusive thoughts linked to the trauma, you will be giving them more power over you, and you will only get more power over you. over you, and you will only achieve the opposite of the desired effect. Do not try to leave your mind "blank" either, as this is impossible and you will become frustrated.

Assume that you cannot totally control what goes through your mind and that it will always be subject to a torrent of thoughts that will arise one after another, some of which will cause you some discomfort.

3. Do not be afraid of the concepts surrounding the trauma.

Every trauma has a core of images and ideas that are unbearable for us at a given moment and make us feel very bad, and a whole series of mental contents that orbit around it and generate discomfort, but not in such an intense way. The best thing to do is not to assume that this second group of thoughts and images will lead you to relive the trauma, and to try to "lose the trauma".and that you try to "lose your fear" of them.

For example, do not avoid visiting certain places that have an indirect link with what makes you relive the traumatic memories, and in fact, try to give them other connotations. Do new, positive and stimulating activities from your point of view in a way that those kinds of experiences are linked to those contents of "the orbit". In this way you will lose respect for them and the domains of trauma will become narrower and narrower, giving you more room to maneuver..

4. Practice acceptance of discomfort

You must train your ability to keep in mind certain contents that generate discomfort. Not only those related to trauma, but all of them in general. In this way you will be better and better at not avoiding certain ideas and images, and they will leave your mind.and they will leave your consciousness just as they have come.

In this sense, you may find it useful to practice Mindfulness. This type of exercises will lead you to be aware of the experiences associated with the here and now without judging them, just accepting them for what they are.

5. Lean on your friends and family

The process of overcoming a trauma is not entirely individual.. We are social beings, and it is normal to seek the support of others when we feel especially vulnerable. Try to avoid isolating yourself as a way of experiencing the trauma.

Do you need professional psychological support?

If you are going through a difficult time and feel that you need psychotherapeutic support, please contact me.

My name is Javier Ares and I am a General Health Psychologist expert in forms of discomfort associated with anxiety, depression and / or relationship problems, which I address mainly from the cognitive-behavioral therapy.