Traumatic events involve situations that are either life-threatening or have the potential for serious injury, such as physical assault, natural disaster or an emergency situation, a serious accident, from childhood issues, from pandemic conditions, or due to health issues and illnesses. Most people will experience at least one of these types of events at some time in their lives.
After a traumatic event, you might experience strong feelings such as fear, sadness, guilt, anger, or even grief. You might find it hard to cope, and it might take a while to come to terms with what has happened. This is because traumatic events affect a person wholly - in terms of physical, mood, cognitive and emotional depletion.
Generally, these feelings may resolve on their own, and with the support of family and friends, you will recover in a short time. However, if you do not feel things are improving or getting better, you may need the help of an experienced counsellor.
Self-coping after trauma
Recovery after trauma doesn’t mean forgetting your experience or feeling no emotional pain when remembering it. Recovery means becoming less distressed and having more confidence in your ability to cope, as time goes on.
Even if you don’t feel like it, try to do some of the things suggested below. They might help you to come to terms with the traumatic event you experienced and reduce some of the distress associated with it.
- Recognise that you have been through an extremely stressful event and that you will have an emotional reaction to it. Give yourself permission to feel, but also remember your strengths – and consider internal and external resources you have available.
- Look after yourself by getting plenty of rest, regular exercise, and by eating regular, well-balanced meals. Physical and mental health are closely linked, so taking care of one will help the other.
- Cut back on tea, coffee, chocolate, soft drink, and cigarettes. These can cause further ‘hyped up’ feelings. Try to avoid using other drugs or alcohol to cope, as they can lead to more problems in the long term too.
- Make time for relaxation – whether it’s listening to music, taking a bath, reading a book or spending time with friends– whatever works for you. It might be helpful to learn a relaxation technique like meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, or breathing exercises.
- Structure your days and try to schedule at least one enjoyable activity each day. Try including time for some exercise, and for relaxation.
- Resume your normal routine as soon as possible, but take it easy, don't overdo things.
Getting help after trauma
A traumatic event can affect the way you see the world, your life, your work, your goals, and your relationships with others. It is vital that people who have experienced trauma or are experiencing symptoms of PTSD can access quality, professional help. Therapy and trauma counselling is a key and highly effective method for helping to process and resolve trauma.
Whether its personal trauma or caused by single incident, complex and/or prolonged trauma; resolving and properly processing the traumatic event(s) is paramount to being able to shift away from a negative response to life. The body of scientific research supports targeted talking therapies as highly effective in treating PTSD trauma long term and improving people’s quality of life, overall.
Counsellors experienced in working with trauma help people to gain control over disempowering moments and memories safely. Quality trauma counselling is highly effective in providing the tools to better cope with distressing memories, be resilient in future events, and function better, as well as providing the best chance of growing from your experiences, instead of feeling oppressed by them.
Talking therapies like counselling can often help if you have been traumatised and the situation is not resolving. Therapy is not a magic wand, and processing and discussing trauma can be hard. This makes good quality professional help a fundamental key to successful recovery and resilience. Getting help to talk things through, in a safe way, is part of the natural healing process and aims to help people accept what has happened, be able to move on, and make sense of their world in a new and meaningful way.
A SchemeWise counsellor is a mental health professional, specifically trained, who can help you:
- Learn other ways of expressing your feelings, such as through writing, talking, groups or other expressive means.
- Manage and deal with recurring thoughts, dreams, and flashbacks.
- Provide a safe place to work through a traumatic event or circumstance.
- Guide you toward recovery through the use of quality therapeutic approaches.
- Consider if you are having trouble coping, whether you may also need to talk to your GP (and help you do this).
A SchemeWise counsellor is a dedicated and private support just for you, if you need help. Why not talk with us today - there's no obligation and a counsellor can meet with you to see if you can work together free of charge.
Depending on the circumstance, and any safety/risk issues, this service may be provided in person at your home, via teleservice (online video) or via phone.
It's really easy to get started too!
Simply use our Contact Form to get in touch, or
phone SchemeWise on our number below.
(24/7 automated service - we usually reply within one business day)
