Being a victim of trauma can impact the way we see ourselves and our lives. We may feel a lack of control over everything in our lives following a traumatic event. We may look back on our former selves before the traumatic experiences and feel alienated from who we once were. Guilt and anger are some of the common emotions experienced following trauma. Guilt is what we feel when we blame ourselves for what happened. Anger is a feeling we may have toward those responsible for our trauma, the event itself, or even inward toward ourselves. At The Guest House, we understand that healing from trauma means reclaiming a sense of the self that we lost following the traumatic event. Healing involves accepting what we can and cannot control in our lives.
Many people turn to self-destructive behaviors as a way of gaining some sense of control over their lives. They rationalize addictive and unhealthy habits by believing that if they are going to feel pain anyway, they should at least be in charge of the pain. To grow after trauma, we have to heal from our trauma. We have to view the experience from a healthy perspective and may have to open up about our painful experiences. When we engage in self-destructive behaviors to feel a sense of control over our lives, we are only allowing the trauma to control us and lead us down a dark path. Facing treatment is challenging and the idea of reliving our experiences can be scary, however, we cannot heal in denial of what we have lost. To regain our former sense of selves, we have to reframe our emotions and stop blaming ourselves for the bad things that have happened to us.
Trauma can greatly affect the way that we view ourselves. We may feel weak or like a victim following traumatic experiences. We may blame ourselves for what happened by asking questions like, “Why didn’t I stop this from happening?” or “Why didn’t I fight or run away?” We cannot blame ourselves for the bad things that have happened to us in our lives. When we blame ourselves, we are just giving in to the trauma and allowing the event to forever define our lives and control us. Healing from trauma takes work and means that we may have to confront our past. We may have to reframe the experience and relive some of the emotions from the past. Hope is possible and we can regain some of what we lost! The Guest House is here to help you learn healthy ways of coping with trauma and growing as a person. Call us today at (855) 483-7800 to get your life back on track!