Have you ever been told to “just move on” after a troubling event? It sounds simple enough, but for someone who has gone through a traumatic experience, it’s rarely that simple.
Trauma is more than bad memories. It’s an experience that goes far beyond the moment itself. Even years after an event, a traumatic experience can affect a person’s nervous system, emotions, and sense of safety in their present life. Experiencing fear, anxiety, shame, intrusive and vivid memories, emotional numbness, and even trouble trusting others, trauma can leave its mark on every aspect of a person’s life for years if left unaddressed.
Enter trauma processing. More than forgetting about what happened or “getting over it,” trauma processing is an important part of healing that helps a person work through the experience so that it can no longer negatively affect their life. In this article, we will discover what trauma processing is and how trauma processing can help individuals move forward in life, not by erasing the past, but by changing the way it affects the present. First, let’s get a better understanding of what trauma is and learn how it can impact our lives long after the event has occurred.
What Is Trauma?
When we think of trauma, many of our minds automatically picture a car accident, a war zone, or a natural disaster. However, trauma comes in many forms. Trauma can result from a single event such as an accident, assault, or the death of a loved one, but it can also be caused by ongoing stressors. Events like abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), neglect, and chronic illness are ongoing circumstances that can cause long-lasting trauma.
However, trauma is more than the event itself. Two individuals might experience the same thing but respond very differently. Trauma is more about how the brain and body respond. When a person is traumatized by an event, their nervous system remains “stuck” on high alert, affecting their present-day reactions. When left unaddressed, past traumas often look like anxiety, depression, unregulated emotions, trouble with sleep, and strained relationships.
Trauma can happen to anyone, at any age, and at every stage of their life. Sometimes it’s a single event, and for others, it’s a repeated experience. The effects of trauma can show up differently for everyone, but one thing is almost always certain: unless it’s addressed, trauma can continue to affect an individual for many years.
Why Trauma Can Continue to Affect Us Years Later
No matter how hard we try, trauma is rarely forgotten. As a matter of fact, our brains are designed to remember past dangers so we can avoid them in the future. Even if we try to forget a bad experience, it never disappears and can creep into our thoughts unexpectedly. Over time, these unresolved experiences can damage relationships, interfere with work or school, and even contribute to physical health issues.
Our brain and body are so interconnected that a thought can activate bodily systems to help us survive. An increase in heart rate, tense muscles, and the fight-or-flight response are automatic responses to danger designed to keep us safe. The problem with a traumatic experience is that the brain can continue to respond long after the danger has ended. These feelings can keep a person from thriving in their life, leaving them feeling out of control. These emotional responses can be triggered by things as simple as smells, sounds, a certain location, or even a conversation.
In the end, working through trauma is the path to reclaiming control over a person’s life, so the past is no longer running the show. So, how do we deal with trauma? No, not by forgetting, but instead by processing it.
What Trauma Processing Actually Means
Too often we get advice like, “move on“ or “put it behind you.” The sad reality is, for those who struggle with traumatic experiences in the past, it’s just not that easy. Trauma must be processed to move forward. But what does that mean?
Trauma processing can be achieved with the help of a professional trauma therapist who can help the individual safely work through memories, emotions, physical responses, and patterns linked to a traumatic experience. Working with a therapist for trauma will help a person understand:
- What happened
- How the event/experience affects the way they see themselves
- How it changed the way they see other people
- What emotions are connected to the event/experience
- The physical responses when the trauma reappears
- What a person believes because of the event/experience
- How those emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and physical responses affect life today
Using a variety of different therapies and exercises, professionals teach individuals how to change the way they think about and respond to their traumatic memories. By treating people with carefully guided treatment plans, the responses (emotional and physical) attached to the memory can be minimized, if not eliminated. Although the memory will always remain, the person will learn through trauma processing to have greater control over how they respond.
How a Professional Therapist Can Help
Working through trauma without help is possible, but it is not likely when it continually impacts your daily life. Professional therapists have the skill and education to establish trust and create a safe space where a person can explore their trauma at their own manageable pace. The first step is developing a relationship in which the therapist can focus on establishing emotional safety and teaching strategies for regulating overwhelming emotions. Once a relationship is established, different therapeutic approaches can be used to address the trauma and the thoughts, emotions, and physical responses surrounding it. Of course, treatment will be individualized based on factors such as age, circumstances, symptoms, and treatment goals.
Two of the most commonly used therapies for trauma processing by a therapist for trauma include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
EMDR can help the brain reprocess troubling memories to reduce the intensity of the emotions linked to them. CBT, on the other hand, concentrates on spotting and changing harmful or negative thought patterns and behaviors that keep the trauma response active. Using these therapies along with talk therapy and somatic therapies (yoga, meditation, breathing exercises), a professional trauma therapist helps people accept what happened, garner meaning and strength through it, and gain control over their emotions and future. With the right support, many people discover they can move beyond the trauma and use it as a foundation for strength, resilience, and a peaceful future.
Signs You May Benefit from Trauma Therapy
Not every person or traumatic experience requires formal treatment, but when certain patterns are present, they may signal that professional help would be beneficial. Some common signs include :
- Anxiety or persistent feelings of being in danger
- Unwanted/intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or nightmares
- Avoiding people, places, conversations, or situations that remind you of the event/experience
- Irritability
- Emotional numbness
- Difficulty with trusting others
- Trouble sleeping, concentrating, or unexplained physical symptoms
- Feeling “stuck” or unable to move forward
Of course, there are many other signs an individual may notice, and not every person has to experience each one to benefit from therapy. The most important thing is to recognize that something is not right, take the next step towards healing, and move forward without the weight of the past affecting the present.
Finding Help and Taking the Next Step
If any of this information resonates with you, it’s okay to ask for help before you have everything figured out. Finding a therapist for trauma in Layton can make a meaningful difference in your life by helping you explore what you are feeling and understand how past experiences may be impacting your life today.
Whether you are seeking help for yourself, your child, teenager, or an aging parent, a trauma-informed specialist can provide accessible care to help process trauma, accept it, and heal from it. Perhaps “moving on” is not the best advice, but it is possible to change the way you think about past trauma and the role it plays in your life. With the right support, the memory can turn into just that, a memory rather than something the mind and body continue to experience in the here and now. Trauma processing is part of that story, helping people understand experiences, challenge patterns and emotions that do not serve them, and regain control over their lives.