How to Survive a Traumatic Experience

Somewhere in the world people are experiencing traumatic events every day. Communities fall apart due to tornadoes, floods, fires, and war — cataclysmic events that cause multiple losses for everyone in their path. Homes and possessions are lost; individuals suffer injuries; friends and family disappear or die.  Individual events like physical, sexual and/or verbal abuse, illness, abduction, injury or death of loved ones, sudden loss of health, home or job are devastating as well. Traumatic events, whether on a community or personal level, are shocking and life-changing. To feel devastated is normal. To want to stop time and live only in our grief is normal. To grieve deeply and profoundly is normal. And grief often takes much longer than those around the griever feel it should.  But at some point, if a life is to go forward, it is essential to find a way to move on. Moving on does not mean to forget or to dismiss what happened. No. What happened — happened. It becomes part of our personal history. As such, it will continue to shape us in some way. But to live permanently in a state of emotional shock and turmoil is to lose what a future may hold.  Recovery can happen. It takes time. It takes effort. It happens gradually. But it does happen. Some people report that they even grow stronger in the process. The following are suggestions for recovery that researchers have gleaned from survivors: Let yourself grieve. Grief is a natural process that helps us metabol...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Grief and Loss Self-Help Trauma Source Type: blogs