Summary

The web content provides guidance on coping with trauma through self-care, emphasizing the importance of basic human needs like eating, sleeping, and breathing.

Abstract

The article titled "3 Things to Do When Trauma Hits Hard" on the undefined website addresses the profound impact of trauma on an individual's life. It acknowledges the overwhelming nature of traumatic experiences, ranging from loss and betrayal to assault and illness. The author, Christina M. Ward, shares personal insights and scriptural references that have helped her through tough times, advocating for a focus on fundamental survival mechanisms: nourishment, rest, and respiration. The piece underscores the significance of grounding oneself through faith, support systems, and activities that provide solace, while also warning against unhealthy coping mechanisms during times of crisis. It encourages readers to be patient with themselves, to adapt to changes, and to hold onto hope for healing and recovery.

Opinions

The author expresses a deep understanding of trauma, suggesting a personal familiarity with its effects.
Emotional and physical reactions to trauma are recognized as highly individualized, yet sharing commonalities such as exhaustion, anxiety, and numbness.
The article emphasizes the importance of self-care and basic needs during crisis, viewing them as critical for survival and initial steps towards healing.
It is suggested that trauma can lead to life-altering changes, necessitating adaptation and potentially a new direction in life.
The author advocates for seeking support from friends, family, and professionals, and for being honest about one's state of mind during traumatic periods.
There is a strong endorsement for maintaining hope and engaging in activities that provide a sense of wellness and grounding.
The author warns against the vulnerability to unhealthy coping mechanisms during trauma recovery and suggests accountability as a protective factor.
The article concludes with an encouraging message that despite the current struggle, individuals have the capacity to heal and overcome trauma with time and self-care.
A call to action is made for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts to seek immediate help from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

MENTAL HEALTH

3 Things to Do When Trauma Hits Hard

When it seems you might be crushed by the pain — here’s what you need to do to survive it

Trauma. My old friend. We meet again.

Perhaps you are tired of offering a hand, a generous bow and a “Come on in!” Perhaps, you are in the throes, down on your knees, bearing the weight of it on weary shoulders. Let me tell you, I know trauma.

There was a time when this verse was so tear-stained in my Bible, the pages were wrinkled:

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 116 (NIV)

But it’s been a long time since I have fallen to the depths of it. It’s been a while since trauma has taken over my life and my body and pulled me into the depths of despair. Yet, here I am. Right in the throes of it.

Nevertheless, the familiarity, the internal jerk into action — the plowing right through of tears so thick you can’t think past them — my body responds to the trauma while my mind rises to do battle.

Perhaps you have been there?

You get the call and hear the news; someone has passed. The loss is crushing.

You find the text messages that confirm that sneaky suspicion you’ve had for a while. The betrayal is bitter on your tongue. You can’t breathe.

You lose the job you’ve had for years. All of your hard work and scraping forward — all for nothing. You feel discarded and useless and terrified.

That person you love leaves you with a note on the fridge. He takes the car. He takes the dog. He takes what is left of your dignity.

Someone you love is (or YOU are) assaulted and there’s nothing you can do to feel safe again. The world is suddenly a dark and terrifying place.

The person you love has been lying to you — and there’s no going back.

That word — cancer. It won’t stop ringing in your head.

(Forgive me the made up scenarios — but I can’t just lay it all out there. Feel free to insert your own hellish experience.)

But you don’t need scenarios. If you have suffered through trauma, emotionally, physically, criminally, medically, or otherwise — you know it when it comes to call because everything within your body suddenly forgets how to simply function. Every single thing you’ve known about the world around you is suddenly different, unfamiliar, and thrust upon you without mercy. You suffer, immensely, and simply existing takes everything you’ve got. The tears burn until your eyes just feel they can’t give a single more tear — then hoards of them wrack you all over again.

Or you become so numb you think you will never feel again. You find yourself sitting in strange places, staring at obscure things, the time meaning little at all. You mop the bathroom floor at 3 am and don’t even know why.

What to do when trauma takes over your life

You are going to think I am oversimplifying, but I am not. These three things:

EAT

SLEEP

BREATHE

That’s it. When trauma takes over — that is ALL you can manage.

The initial wave of devastation will take your body out of commission. And those three things play in my head like a mantra. (And along, of course, with the various Bible verses fed to me throughout my youth. Whatever works to ground you and strengthen you — without adding to the problem, of course — because you are in survival mode — do it. Auto-pilot. Go.)

What is trauma, exactly?

Trauma is defined as “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience.” (Google definition.) Though these experiences are variable from person to person, the mental and physical reaction can have some similarities.

Trauma, including one-time, multiple, or long-lasting repetitive events, affects everyone differently. Some individuals may clearly display criteria associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but many more individuals will exhibit resilient responses or brief subclinical symptoms or consequences that fall outside of diagnostic criteria. The impact of trauma can be subtle, insidious, or outright destructive. How an event affects an individual depends on many factors, including characteristics of the individual, the type and characteristics of the event(s), developmental processes, the meaning of the trauma, and sociocultural factors. — NCBI

The body responds to trauma in significantly impactful ways, including any or all of the following:

exhaustion
sadness
confusion
agitation
numbness
anxiety
dissociation
confusion
sleeplessness
loss of appetite
crying and feeling overwhelmed
denial
blunted affect
physical arousal

How should you respond to traumatic events?

The first thing to do when trauma occurs is, of course, to recognize that you are in crisis, and to begin taking care of your mental and physical health needs, even on autopilot, as best you can.

Lean on trusted friends and family members, medical and mental health professionals, and be honest that you are in a state of high stress and may need some time to get your head and yourself together.

Be patient and kind with yourself.

Regroup. Sometimes your life needs to go in a new direction and this is thrust upon you. Or, your life may have changed, significantly. Take a little time to take things one step at a time. But while you are in the thick of it — realize that things are changing and you are able to adapt. Focus on the parts of your situation that you can manage and try to let go of the things that are out of your control.

Hold fast to hope and all things that bring “light’ in your life. If you are a person of faith — hold onto your faith and pray. Find whatever it is that grounds you into some thread of wellness (meditation, taking walks, playing nature sounds or singing, etc) — and immerse yourself in that, finding strength.

When it hits, when it comes for you, it takes the wind right out of you. But a bit of warning, this is when you are vulnerable to unhealthy coping skills or behaviors. Accountability can help. Again, honesty, and a good support system will help you to stay strong when things are out of control and you can’t think clearly.

EAT. SLEEP. BREATHE.

Finally, tell yourself, as often as you need to hear it, that though you are not ok right now — you will be. Though you are broken — right now — you are able to heal. It is ok to be having a hard time (to put it mildly). It happens to all of us. But with a bit of time and self-care, you can weather this, and you will, someday, be ok.

If you begin to have suicidal thoughts or ideation, PLEASE call:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1–800–273–8255

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to read a poem I wrote about my trauma (and perhaps glean some inspiration to write about your own) you can read that here.

Christina M. Ward is a poet, a naturist, and mental health writer. She recommends this also to help with trauma.