8 Tips to Heal and Learn Through Past Trauma
This is always a safe space for you to learn, heal and grow from your past trauma.
I have spent a lot of time learning & healing from my own past trauma and guiding my clients through their own that I know one thing to be true for everyone, which is YOU ARE NEVER ALONE in what you are going through, and there is always the right support for you.
We all need some guidance every now and then in life. It’s easy to ask for guidance when we are moving through a good moment, like working towards our dreams. It can be a lot harder to ask for guidance in regards to our difficult moments. I am sharing some of my TOP TIPS in regards to healing & learning from your past trauma.
The word trauma can be daunting, especially if you are being asked to reflect on your life and uncover any traumatic experiences. It’s easier to reflect on moments of pain, hurt, anger, and loneliness because these are feelings and emotions we recognize. A past experience will pop up in your memory and you can pinpoint the feelings you had in that moment. But trauma. It is a lot harder to admit to experiencing something traumatic because the connotation of the word seems so much deeper, powerful, and something you wouldn’t experience.
Except, in reality, you probably have experienced something traumatic. Pain, hurt, anger and loneliness can stem from a traumatic situation.
Trauma isn’t just a physical experience, it is emotional, mental, spiritual and psychological.
Typically, it’s after the experience has long passed that you can then see how it had a traumatic effect on your entire being.
It’s not in the moment that we think to ourselves ‘wow, this is trauma-inducing’.
Take a moment and reflect.
Have you experienced pain & hurt in your past?
Does anger pop up in regards to a situation or interaction you experienced?
Have you been led to feeling utterly alone and unable to explain this feeling to someone?
In my personal experience I had no idea what was happening until over a year later. Until I took the time to reflect, to process and to truly see that indeed there was emotional and mental trauma laying deep within my being.
How did it feel? Anytime my past was brought up a weight sat on my chest, my breathing increased, my eyes started to swell with tears, my mind became flustered, my palms were sweaty and I was nervous of how the people around me would respond to my story. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. I was triggered by my past trauma.
I carried emotional trauma with me, as you can see from my description, just the mention of my past brought forward a spiral of negative emotions. The mental trauma affected my beliefs and thoughts, as I mentioned I was scared of saying something wrong because I didn’t want to put any blame on someone else.
I had fear around how others would perceive my traumatic experience.
As I started to heal this wound I began to learn about my experiences in a deeper way and it was clear that I was holding onto trauma.
In the moment you will never think to yourself “this is a traumatic experience” because you are in the moment trying to reach for any amount of light, support, and strength surrounding you. This is why reflection is KEY on our growth journey. Whether reflecting on your own or with the help of someone, you can begin to uncover past trauma, the wounds you carry, and how to heal and learn from this trauma.
Trauma therapy can seem daunting and scary, and yet there is so much you have to gain from doing the work. The most important part is being able to step into your own power.
Since beginning my own work to heal from my experience I can see a massive difference in my daily life. My emotions aren’t triggered as often because of my past and if they are I can recognize these triggers before they take control of how I might react. Now when I reflect on my past, that weight doesn’t sit heavy on my chest because I have learnt to support myself with love instead of guilt and shame for my story.
After taking time to reflect on your own life, are there certain situations that pop up in your mind?
Your intuition (that gut feeling) is your greatest tool. So, answer these journal prompts:
What is your gut reaction?
What was that initial experience that popped up?
What is making your heart flutter, your palms get sweaty and gives you the feeling of a heavy weight on your chest?
This is where you are being guided to heal. This is where your triggers stem from. This is the beginning of healing your wounds.
I want you to know that you never have to do this work alone. Below I want to offer some tips that you need to remember as you heal from your past trauma.
KEEP READING FOR 8 TIPS TO HEAL & LEARN THROUGH TRAUMA*
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TIPS TO HEAL & LEARN FROM PAST TRAUMA
Let’s get down to business.
Now you know which traumatic experience to work through you also know where to focus these tips into your own life. Did you have multiple experiences pop up? That’s okay, and totally normal. These tips will still help you.
TIP 1 - THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY
We all experience life differently. Our emotions can feel different. We reach for different goals and dreams. So, we also experience trauma differently, meaning we heal through trauma differently.
It is so important to know this because someone may offer you advice and it might not work for you. That is okay.
Be open to trying different tools and strategies and begin to understand what works for you and what doesn’t. Also, remember that what works in healing one of your past traumas may not work in healing a different one. That is also okay.
TIP 2 - ASK FOR SUPPORT
You do not need to do this alone.
It can seem scary to let someone else see your wounds and that idea of being vulnerable with others can hold you back from fully healing. The amazing part about asking for support is opening yourself to hearing different opinions, thoughts and perspectives. They didn’t experience your situation from your life perspective and this can bring clarity into your life and your healing.
What does that mean? We often hold ourselves back through healing because we get defensive and our limiting beliefs lead us to believe that we will never heal or we are not good enough.
Your supportive friend, family, or mentor (therapist, coach etc.) sees you as the beautiful light that you are and with this constant reminder you will have the inspiration, motivation, and energy to keep going.
This support will help to pick you up in the moments that you feel alone, lost and confused.
TIP 3 - BE WILLING TO TAKE YOUR TIME
“Rome wasn’t built in a day”
Healing and learning is heavy work and honestly all the lessons aren’t clear at the beginning. Don’t rush yourself because it will never end well. This tip is closely connected to tip 4…
TIP 4 - TAKE BREAKS
As mentioned, this is heavy work so it’s important you take breaks. When you fill your days with this hard healing work you can become drained energetically, emotionally, mentally and physically.
While healing from your past you also need to be living your present.
Take your time. Your work is important, but so is your happiness. Remind yourself to seek joy daily to fill you up with the energy to continue your healing.
TIP 5 - GIVE YOURSELF GRACE
Life is hard. We all know this. Don’t make it harder by being hard on yourself.
When you hold shame, guilt, judgment and anger towards your past self you are holding yourself back from healing fully. You need to be able to offer yourself support and love, because again, healing is heavy.
Give yourself the grace that you are doing the best you can with what you know.
Grace is imperative in your healing journey.
TIP 6 - BREATHE
This is key because it not only keeps you alive, it also keeps you in a calmer more peaceful state.
When we are working through our past we can easily become overwhelmed with all the past emotions & feelings we previously experienced. Breathing will help to bring you back to this present moment by grounding you.
Breathing allows you to flow through the emotions, rather than the emotions controlling you and creating stories as to why you don’t deserve happiness. Yup, emotions will trigger your mind to tell you all the negative things that you don’t wish to hear.
By focusing on your breath and taking long inhales and exhales you are removing the focus on the negative thoughts and instead allowing yourself space to flow through the emotions. You are also calming your nervous system.
TIP 7 - KNOW THAT IT WILL BE HARD
Yes. It will be hard.
That’s why you need to set yourself up for success by creating a support system to help you through. Some days will be easier than others and eventually you will come out the other side feeling so much better. But, the process will be difficult, there is no easy way to say that.
TIP 8 - BE OPEN TO LEARNING SO YOU CAN BECOME BETTER
The main reason for all of this healing is so you can learn any deep lessons that have been carried through your trauma.
These lessons will help you to show up as a stronger, more aligned person. Aligned in a mind, body, soul way and choosing to support yourself with love as you move forward.
There will be other difficult moments that happen in your life and the lessons you take away from healing here will help you to move through life better than before. You are meant to grow, so allow this hard phase of life to create growth within you.
Before you walk away and start moving forward on your healing journey there is something else I want you to know.
You may never have the answers as to WHY.
This question often takes over our minds with each situation we move through. WHY?
I’d love to sit here and tell you that you will know why everything happens in your life, but I’d be lying. You need to get comfortable with the idea that the WHY may never be answered fully. Even if you don’t have the answer, you can still fully heal and create meaning with your life.
Which brings me to the other point I want you to take away.
Even if you don’t know WHY you have the ability to CREATE MEANING from this situation.
There may not be a reason as to WHY it happened, but it’s your choice to look for a meaning you can take away from the situation. This meaning can be absolutely anything. It could be how you choose to show up for others and help them through their life, or how you help yourself in future situations. The meaning may not be obvious at the beginning, but throughout your healing you will begin to see you can lead yourself forward with purpose.
You have the power to heal from your past.
It does not need to be a weight that forever sits on your chest. You do not need to carry the dark cloud with you everywhere you go. There is meant to be light in your life. You are meant to create this light. Remember, we all experience trauma differently, and your trauma does not make you a lesser human.
You have the power to heal and I would love to offer you deeper support if you desire.
Are you ready to work through your past trauma and move towards the light? Check out this previous post with different journal prompts to get you started in your healing process.
Do you desire support along your journey? Head to my offers here and we can get started working together now!
Are you dealing with a past trauma?
Are you needing help finding your way?
Are you determined not to make the same mistakes again?
Having Sydney as your mentor guarantees you’ll heal and build the life of your dreams.
Always remember, you have the ability to get through.
I am here offering you a safe space to learn, heal and grow from your past trauma.
Until next time, sending love & light on your journey of healing,
Sydney Smith
Founder of Adventuring with Poseidon Wellness
