Self-Care for Trauma Survivors: Tips and Strategies
Trauma can have a profound impact on every aspect of a person's life, often leaving them feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and disconnected from themselves and the people they care about.
As a trauma survivor, it can be a DIFFICULT, but An important task, to prioritize self-care to help you cope.
Self-care can be seen as a trendy buzzword, with images of bubble baths and spa days coming to mind. But, for trauma and childhood trauma survivors, self-care can be much more mundane, but still incredibly important and impactful.
This is what we call "boring self-care".
Boring self-care involves small, everyday actions that may not seem glamorous but can greatly impact your overall well-being. This can include things like taking your medication as prescribed, getting enough sleep, eating often and adequately, feeling your feelings, and engaging in joyful and connecting movement practices.
It may not be the most exciting, or aesthetically pleasing Tik-Tok or Instagram self-care practices, but boring self-care will help you reconnect and tend to yourself in the ways you inherently deserve.
Why is boring self-care so important for people who have experienced trauma and childhood trauma?
Trauma can cause significant physical and mental health issues, which can be exacerbated by not caring for your mind, your emotions, and YOUR body.
For example, trauma may cause sleep disturbances like restlessness and nightmares, which can lead to exhaustion and problems with concentration. Engaging in boring self-care practices like maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and practicing good sleep hygiene can help improve sleep quality and, in turn, improve your functioning throughout the day.
Boring self-care practices can help folks feel more in charge of their lives and their ability to find a connection to, and with, safety. Trauma and traumatic memories can leave people feeling helpless, unsafe, and powerless. By taking small actions to care for themselves, trauma survivors can regain a sense of control and autonomy over their lives.
Finally, boring self-care practices can help build resilience. By building positive, connected, and meaningful self-care practices, trauma and complex trauma survivors can strengthen their innate sense of worthiness and purpose. As a result, they may be better able to tolerate the distress of difficult or intense emotions, relationships, or challenging situations.
In this blog post, we'll explore some practical tips and strategies for self-care that can help you navigate the challenges of life after trauma.
What are some boring self-care techniques for dealing with the aftermath of trauma, or PTSD?
1. Practice mindfulness:
Mindfulness techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, and yoga can help you ground yourself in the present moment and have been shown to reduce anxiety and stress. There are both paid and free apps to use for mindfulness practices. Check out insight timer, calm, and headspace.
2. Connect with others:
It can be helpful to talk about your experiences with a friend, family member or to find support from a trauma therapist in Pennsylvania. Or, support groups for people who have experienced trauma. Social connection can be difficult but can bring healing and connection in the aftermath of trauma.
3. Take care of your body from a place of connection and respect:
Engage in activities that make you feel good, like as joyful movement, getting enough sleep, and eating adequately and often. You can also try soothing activities like taking a warm bath, using a scented lotion to ease your body and mind, using a weighted blanket, or practicing aromatherapy.
4. Be kind to yourself:
Practice self-compassion to shift away from self-blame and shame. Recognize that healing is a process, and be patient and kind with yourself as you work towards recovery. Compassion is a skill that can be honed with practice and intention.
5. Set boundaries:
It's important to prioritize your own needs and set boundaries with people or situations that may trigger you. This can mean saying no to things that you feel are not in your best interest, taking breaks when you need them, and choosing to engage with people in your life that are supportive, kind, and capable of showing up for you when you need them.
Remember that healing from trauma is a journey, and everyone's journey looks different. It's okay to seek help and support along the way and to prioritize self-care as a crucial part of your healing process.
Connecting with and expressing your emotions in a healthy way will support your recovery from trauma.
Expressing emotions can be difficult, and oftentimes complicated. Especially when dealing with trauma, eating disorders, and body image issues.
Trauma survivors may find it challenging to talk about their feelings because of fear that doing so will bring the trauma back and cause them to re-experience the event, or the feelings surrounding the event. Some trauma survivors might find it difficult to express their emotions because doing so feels unsafe.
Post-traumatic stress disorder can lead to dysregulation in the nervous system. Neuroception is a term that describes the automatic process that our nervous systems engage in, looking for threats to our safety.
Many times, when people have experienced trauma or complex trauma, they perceive threats in the here and now, even when none exist.
This is because their nervous system has adapted to previous life experiences and is working SO hard to keep them safe from re-experiencing traumatic events.
This constant perception of danger can cause anxiety, panic attacks, and other symptoms, making it even more challenging to express emotions.
Suppressing your feelings for the long term can lead to emotional numbness, which can negatively affect your well-being. Learning how to express your emotions in a safe and healthy way can help you build resilience, improve your relationships, and promote healing.
Here are some tips to help you start to get in touch with, and express your emotions:
Practice self-awareness: Pay attention to your emotions and try to identify what you're feeling- saving a feelings wheel on your phone can help you start to expand your feelings vocabulary.
Write them down: Keeping a journal can be a great way to identify and start to express your emotions. Write down how you're feeling, what triggered those emotions, how they feel in your body, and what you can do to cope with them in a healthy and self-respecting way.
Talk to someone: Talking to someone you trust can help you process and express your emotions. This might be a trauma therapist in Pennsylvania, a friend, or a family member.
Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness exercises can help you learn how to notice thoughts and emotions, and come back staying present and calm, which can be helpful when dealing with strong emotions.
Engage in creative and fun activities: Activities like painting, drawing, singing or dancing can help you express your emotions in a creative way.
Remember that expressing your emotions in a healthy way is a journey, not a destination. Be patient with yourself and give yourself time to practice, learn and grow.
With the help of specialized trauma therapy in Pennsylvania, you can find ways to express your emotions in healthy and safe ways that honor your needs and your values.
Start practicing strategies to rebuild your sense of security and safety.
If you are struggling after experiencing trauma, an eating disorder, or body image issues, rebuilding your sense of security and safety in the world probably feels like a difficult concept.
Trauma survivors often have a hard time accessing a felt sense of safety, as their brains are wired to perceive danger everywhere (ie neuroception, as we mentioned above!).
This can make it difficult to trust others, express your feelings, feel secure in relationships, and find a sense of safety in the world.
With the right strategies and support, it is possible to regain an authentic felt sense of safety and stability. Here are some strategies that may help:
Find professional help:
Consider reaching out to a specialized trauma therapist in Pennsylvania who can help you understand your symptoms, process your experiences and develop coping strategies that work for you. A trauma therapist who provides complex trauma and trauma therapy in Pennsylvania can walk beside you through the healing process and provide a safe and supportive space for you to explore your feelings.
Practice boring self-care:
Make time for activities that make you feel good like we referenced earlier in this blog post! Prioritizing self-care can help you feel more grounded and in control.
Build a support system:
Surround yourself with people who understand and support you. This can include friends, family members, support groups, or online communities. Having a strong support system can help you feel less alone and more connected to others.
Notice negative thoughts:
It's common to experience negative thoughts after a traumatic experience, or when struggling with body image issues. Try to notice these thoughts and remember that thoughts are not facts. They are a passing by function of your brain that will come and go if you allow them to. Try to notice the thoughts by saying... "I'm having the thought that...." and choose to engage in something that you value.
Take small steps:
Rebuilding a sense of security and safety can take time. Remember to be patient with yourself and to take small steps towards your goals. Celebrate your successes, no matter how big or how small!
If you're in Pennsylvania and struggling with trauma, eating disorders, or body image issues, know that you're not alone.
These struggles can be complex and emotionally overwhelming, but finding specialized support can be an important step toward healing. Reclaim Therapy is here to provide you with complex trauma and trauma treatment that can help you process your life experiences so that you can live the life that you desire, and that you SO deserve.
We offer specialized trauma therapy in Pennsylvania.
Modalities like internal family systems, somatic experiencing, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), can help you process your trauma. They can help you understand and care for the parts of you that are suffering and develop coping skills to manage your symptoms. Our team of mental health professionals is dedicated to helping you heal from post-traumatic stress disorder.
If you're ready to take the first step towards healing, we encourage you to reach out to Reclaim Therapy to schedule a free 15 minute consultation. Our team will be here to support you every step of the way.
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Reclaim Therapy specializes in providing trauma therapy and eating disorder treatment in Pennsylvania.
Our team of therapists is passionate about helping people reclaim their lives from the impact of trauma, diet culture, and disordered eating. Our hope is that we can support people to come home to their bodies, their hunger, and their inherent worthiness. We specialize in providing binge eating therapy in Pennsylvania, eating disorder treatment, EMDR therapy, and body image counseling. We also offer support for those struggling with anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, PTSD, and CPTSD (complex trauma)