By now, you’ve learned that:

2 Types of trauma exist – Type 1 (one-time event) and Type 2 (repeated events)

Trauma is physical and/or psychological

2 kinds of reactions to trauma exist (that mind/body connection)

You are familiar with a list of symptoms of trauma

You should never ignore the signs of trauma (remove the pebble please)

Now what? Two tips:

Seek support

Build your sense of self

Seek support 

First, recognize that you need support:

If you feel that ANYTHING is making it so that you are…

having trouble concentrating or focusing (thinking self)

having trouble with friends or family (social self)

overwhelmed with anxiety or fear (emotional self)

acting out in inappropriate, maladaptive or destructive ways (safe self)

… then talk to a professional. You deserve better!

If you do not have a professional with whom to speak, consider a trusted adult or friend. Begin a dialogue with someone. Your someone could range from a professional to your best friend to your pet turtle, depending on what’s upsetting you. Just start talking. Talking to someone who responds with love and support is preferable, but just get talking.

ATTENTION!! if you are being abused by someone, you need to stop the abuse immediately. To get help, you need to literally walk into

the police station

a hospital

a fire house

the school counselor or principal or social worker office

another trusted adult whom you know will do the right thing

and you need to say something like, “I am being abused and I need help. I’m scared the person will come after me if s/he finds out I’m telling you, so I really need you to help me in a way that keeps me safe.”

The person will likely ask a lot of questions about the abuse. If it’s difficult for you to talk about it, write it down. Take pictures of bruises, black eyes, cuts, anything you have to show them. Together you and the person can determine what is best for you and how to break free from the abuse. Don’t think for a second that you don’t deserve to be free of the abuse! Help is out there! Go to it.

Build your sense of self

Notice in the first list above that in parenthesis it says, “thinking,” “social,” “emotional,” and “safe self?”

That’s because these are aspects of who you are. These parts of you can be damaged when you have been traumatized, so your next step is to work on these parts of who you are. And you are actually doing that every time you come to this website and read the material and think to yourself, Who am I in that situation? How would I manage that? How am I feeling about this?

But to take it a step further is to change your thoughts and feelings and experiences in a way that benefits you. To learn more about connecting the dots, read the next post…..

 

If you need help managing a trauma, you can contact: https://www.crisistextline.org

or text them at 741741