We learn through treatment that we are a holistic being, meaning, that our minds and our bodies, as well as our spirits, are not separate entities. Though there might be many times in our life we wish they were separate, we are usually grateful to learn we aren’t made of a bunch of different parts attempting to work together. We are one whole being and everything that happens in our mind affects our body and spirit, everything that happens in our body affects our mind and spirit, and everything that affects our spirit affects our body and mind. Living in total sync takes work and unrelenting self-care, which we learn how to create for ourselves in recovery. Once we graduate treatment and move onto the next phase of our development, it is critical that we take our self-care with us, for every level of our needs: from head to toe, from inside to outside. Trauma affects every single part of our life. Our recovery has to be comprehensive in every part of our life, too.
Meet Your Physical Needs
Our bodies are very often harmed as a result of trauma, in a couple of ways. First, trauma might happen directly to our bodies. Second, if trauma happens directly to our bodies or not, trauma continues to live in our bodies on a visceral, cellular level. Third, as a result of our trauma, we might have developed harmful coping behaviors which caused harm to our bodies, like eating disorders, addictions, medical issues, or self-harm. To live as an alumni of trauma treatment means to live in peace with our bodies and in harmony with our bodies, which results from treating our bodies with love, respect, and care.
Meeting our physical needs takes different forms. We have dietary needs because our bodies operate on and heal from food. During treatment, we work with a nutritionist to learn what exactly our bodies needs in terms of food, how to give our bodies the food we need, and how to create a well-rounded, nutritious diet which serves our bodies’ healing. After graduating, we take our dietary plan with this, eating well-rounded meals every day and nourishing our body through food.
We have needs of movement in our bodies because that is what the human body was created to do: move. Through our experiential therapies, we found the forms of movement which worked best for us, be it running, lifting weights, dancing, yoga, playing sports, martial arts, tai chi, or whatever else we found brought us peace and movement every day.
Outside of movement, food, and care, our bodies need to be loved. Only we can know in exactly what way we need to love our bodies and have our bodies be loved by others. Loving our bodies could be as simple as regular hygiene or as special as regular massages. We might also love our bodies through positive body talk, holistic healing practices, and healthy physical intimacy with others.
Meet Your Mental Needs
Taking care of our bodies naturally helps us take care of our minds. The mind is a remarkably complex place which means our self-care for our minds has to be inexhaustibly comprehensive. Our ongoing treatment and therapy is one of the most important ways we can take care of our minds. Whether we transition to a lower level of care or work with a private therapist only, we have to keep working on our trauma and doing the work required of us to work on our trauma. Doing the trauma work, as we have learned, means having to take care of our minds in other ways. We need to watch movies, do art, work with horses, listen to music, laugh, cry, journal, talk to others, be silent, meditate, contemplate, and much more. Our minds need space, time, and respect.
Meet Your Spiritual Needs
Spirituality is different for everyone, which is what makes finding and living a spiritual life of your understanding so great. For some, spirituality is religiously based while for others, spirituality has little to do with religion at all. Spirituality may lie in the belief of a deity or spirituality may life in the belief of self and others. Our spirituality is fed through spiritual acts- the activities in life which make our soul feel full and nourished. Many people find spiritual peace in nature and travel. Many people find spiritual peace in meditation and the fellowships of recovery support groups. Wherever we find our spiritual selves, we take ourselves to that place as often as we can. Trauma is often the result of wounds which have been inflicted upon our very soul. Spirituality is the direct therapeutic way of healing the wounds on our soul.
Remember, Your Needs Deserve To Be Met
In treatment, it is easy to remember to meet your needs because that’s involved in every single part of your daily schedule. Outside of treatment, remembering to meet your needs becomes a daily task to be achieved. Skipping meals, meditations, meetings, and other forms of self-care is all too easy when you’re feeling better and noticing a positive difference in your life. Feeling better and making positive change is entirely dependent upon your self-care, meeting your needs mentally, physically, and spiritually. You’re ready to do it. You’re already doing it. You’re a trauma treatment alumni. You’re prepared to live life fully.
When you graduate trauma treatment, the rubber meets the road, as it is said. To live successfully in recovery from trauma, addictions, or related mental health issues, we need the care and professionalism of an experienced, specialized staff who provide us excellence in treatment. Our alumni learn how to thrive in their lives not in spite of trauma, but because of it. We’re always here to welcome those in need of help at The Guest House Ocala. Call us today for information and resources: 1-855-483-7800