The Full Story of Psychological Trauma and How to Cope With It.

Believe me or not, but everyone can be affected by trauma, even you!

 

When someone thinks of Psychological trauma, what comes to mind? The most common answer would be surviving a near death experience, having someone close to them die before their eyes and well anything pertaining to death in general. But trauma is a lot more than escaping a situation that would induce great fear, in fact trauma can be ignited with multiple emotions! It’s just a shame that these forms of trauma are overlooked because they aren’t as dark and gruesome as society expects it to be. Well, sit back, grab a coffee and get ready for an informative article on the true nature of psychological trauma, and for those who suffer from it, how to cope and heal.

Now the question must buzz around in your mind: What is psychological trauma?  Well Wikipedia states that psychological trauma is damage to a person's mind as a result of one or more events that cause overwhelming amounts of stress that exceed the person's ability to cope or integrate the emotions involved, eventually leading to serious long term trauma. Simple right? Now I'd like to emphasize the  statement “damage to the brain”. Of course this means psychological damage not physical, but in a way it can also be linked to emotional damage. Imagine your mindset as a road, and at the end are all your hopes, goals and dreams. Now on that road is a truck which embodies your mind, travelling along on this straight and smooth road with no bumps or distractions. Then, out of nowhere, another truck, which would be life, comes crashing into your mind and setting it of course leaving it damaged. Now the engine has stopped working, the gas is leaking out and the tires are burst. This little example greatly defines the concept of psychological trauma- Someone’s way of life being shifted, changed or destroyed and is left with an overflow of Anger, sadness, remorse, regret and confusion that they have no way of fighting such strong emotions on their own so they just give in and stop trying. This leaves most people in major distress as symptoms of psychological trauma include constant nightmares, recurring memories of the traumatic incident and terrible anxiety that isn’t easy to get rid of. 

Now that you have a general understanding of my view on Psychological trauma, it would be most exhilarating to prove my earlier statement pertaining to the fact that trauma is more than experiencing a life ending situation. See we understand that psychological trauma can occur when there is a typhoon of emotions, that causes the brain to malfunction and suffer confusion correct? Now, let me apply this to a very recent incident: The pandemic. Imagine spending your whole life at a physical learning space, then immediately be thrusted into an online space, that big change would leave most people in an array of negative emotions like confusion, sadness, a deep longing for the old way things were simpler and more formulaic as you were used to. Now without a proper support system, a person could fall prey to these emotions, and anytime the concept of online learning is brought 3 centimeters near these people, they will be flooded with the emotions they felt for it before. Also note that this was not the case with every student, so the strength of the person's mind is also a major factor as to why the trauma may affect them.

 

Now for the segment you’ve all been grasping at straws for…

 

HOW TO COPE

 

Ever heard of a term called stoicism?

 

This is a virtue that originated in Greece, and while I am quite the history nerd I'll spare you the details on its full background. Basically it’s the practice of facing difficulties without displaying emotions. Now you might be thinking, that sounds like suppressing how you truly feel and if so, then you didn’t interpret it properly. Focus on the term display. Whenever we feel a certain emotion our body and facial expression act accordingly. Now what stoicism teaches, is how to tame those bodily urges and in a way cool your emotions. You’ll still feel emotions, both positive and negative, but when you learn to internally express them and not physically display it, you’ll begin to be able to overcome and conquer these emotions over time. Of course, like all things worth doing, practising stoicism will not be easy. It takes a certain amount of discipline to commit to the practices, and sometimes you will stumble, and stumble HARD, but you must recollect yourself and try again. For the sake of helping you on this journey, I have provided you with steps to get into the teachings.

 

●      Don’t tell others your practising stoicism. Let it be something you have to yourself.

●      Always carry a diary to write your emotions into. All of them. That may help you limit physical expression and teach you to let it out through much calmer means.

●      Be patient- with everything.  Not just your actions but your words. Only speak if necessary, and if not keep quiet and observe. Having this level of patience will help keep your emotions in check, and will stimulate your mind. Quiet people do have the loudest minds you know.

●      If you fail, brush it off and go again. Even if you fail again and again, never stop. This builds resilience and character

●      Be productive. Excel in your job, get a hobby, do some exercise, anything that will put your mind at ease.

●      Don’t feel as if you can’t still feel emotions like Joy and excitement, you can, not just openly and overly display it.

●      SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!!! Let them sit with you and have talk, so you can have some professional advice on your journey

●      And lastly, TAKE YOUR TIME! You won’t master Stoicism in a week or two, no this takes months! But it’s worth it if you want to overcome the trauma.

 

With the power of stoicism, one can overcome the Anxiety and overflow of emotions caused by the trauma, and begin the process of healing their mind. Emotions are a powerful thing, and if you have control over yours then you are guaranteed to have a healthy life.

I do hope you enjoyed this article, and learned something new from it! To anyone out there who believes they want to know more, or have a conversation on the matter, please blow up my Instagram and we’ll chat. But for now, till next time!

Written by:

Marc-Anthony

Follow his instagram: https://www.instagram.com/depressedchild553/