After going through something traumatic, you may decide that taking your trauma to the grave is the best idea. First, you may be tired of reliving it, so you would rather stuff it down deep than talk about it. Second, you may be afraid that you will be shunned, embarrassed, or doubted about what happened. You may prefer to skip all of those circumstances so that you do not have to feel worse than you already do. The problem with secrets is that you are causing more damage by not telling anyone and limiting the chance to work through the pain that could negatively manifest in other ways.
Your biggest fear may be telling your family what happened because you do not want them to look at you differently. You also might be using drugs, alcohol, sex, or food to cope with the triggers and flashbacks that continue to haunt you. You hope not to blow your cover through your damaging behaviors. The truth is that you need support to get through your trauma, and your family could be the gateway to receiving the treatment that will help alleviate your anguish.
You Need Support
Getting support does not mean you have to tell everything or everybody in your family. All you need to do is share in a general way what happened to you with a loyal person, even if it is only a therapist that is legally and ethically bound to keep your sessions confidential. With a therapist’s help, you can gain courage and perspective about who to tell in your family and what to tell. The point is not to tell a family member and hurt them with the information, but rather to stop repressing your trauma so that you can be free and move on from it.
You Need to Share
Keeping the shame of your trauma locked inside can affect your relationships because you will inadvertently be holding yourself back from your family. For example, your parents could help you seek legal action against a perpetrator if you have been victimized. Your siblings could help you to comprehend why you may need treatment to help you manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or addiction recovery. Plus, you may open the door for others to come out to share their trauma.
Telling your family about your trauma may be daunting, but you can do this. You are only hurting yourself if you cannot allow yourself to open up to someone who has your best interest at heart and can give extra guidance to help you through the trauma. Using these reasons to navigate you through this time with your family can show you that your trauma does not define you and that your truth will set you free.
Recovery begins even before admission into a treatment program and extends far beyond the time spent in active residential or outpatient rehabilitation. To give you the ability to tell your family the truth about your recovery, we offer residential treatment programs specialized for the care of traumas, addictions, and related mental health issues. Our recovery programs bring together many experiential modalities, including traditional therapy, conscious connected breathwork, equine therapy, somatic experiencing, art in healing, grief therapy, mindfulness, and other forms of therapy to help you to come clean with yourself and your family.
Call (855) 483-7800 today for more information.