Simcoe Addiction and Mental Health

Coping with Trauma - young-female-with-her-head-in-hands-trying-to-cope

How To Cope With Trauma

The Definition of Trauma 

Being alive on this planet leads to us being exposed to a variety of circumstances and situations. Sometimes these experiences can lead to the development of trauma.  According to Merriam Webster dictionary, trauma is the Greek word for wound and can be defined as “a disordered psychic or behavioural state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury”.  It should be noted that there is yet to be a universal psychological definition of trauma. Researchers are still only starting to understand this construct. 

Determining Factors

Certain factors can determine how a traumatic event will affect an individual. This can include a person’s characteristics, the presence of other mental health conditions, previous exposure to traumatic events, the type and characteristics of the events or events, and their background and approach to handling emotions they may experience.

Visit “What Is Trauma and How To Address It” for additional insights about trauma and trauma responses. 

Coping With Trauma

Unhealthy Coping Strategies For Trauma

Some people may develop unhealthy coping mechanisms such as:

  • Projecting one’s damaging behaviour onto others
  • Not taking responsibility for actions
  • Denial about circumstances and behaviours
  • Creating a false sense of security
  • Self medication which may include the use of illicit drugs or alcohol.

When the stress of the trauma is just too much one may also engage in self-sabotaging behaviours like overeating, oversleeping, overspending, and generally just avoiding issues instead of dealing with them.

Healthy Coping Strategies For Trauma

Thankfully there are many ways to cope with trauma in a healthy and positive way but it depends on what works best for the individual. It’s best to have a toolbox of different strategies that can be used when needed.

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Therapies to Help Cope With Trauma

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT is a form of psychotherapy that helps to manage emotions and feelings in a balanced way, helping to learn different approaches to cope with grief and loss, understanding how to establish healthy positive relationships, and managing mental health and addiction issues.

Group Therapy 

Of course, it is up to the individual to decide to change but having social ties along the way can provide structural support that is needed for long-lasting changes. Sharing traumatic experiences and pain with others who have had similarly traumatic experiences can create a sense of connection.

Art Therapy

For people who struggle with self-expression, art therapy can implore the individual to utilize a creative process leading to personal insight and developing new coping skills. This coping mechanism is often used in conjunction with CBT or group therapy

EMDR Therapy (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)

Some may consider EMDR Therapy, a form of psychotherapy, a shortcut to more traditional types of psychotherapy. By combining the selection of a specific memory and eye movements of the client, a trained professional can help the autonomic nervous system to release stored trauma.

Trauma Resiliency Model

This form of therapy is a body-centred approach that addresses the physical effects of stress caused by traumatic experiences. TRM helps the individual develop a set of resiliency skills, building stronger and healthier pathways within the body’s muscle memory.

Self-Help Strategies For Trauma

Alternatively, there are daily practices that one can do without cost but require motivation and discipline.

Take Deep Breaths

One method you can use is the “box breathing technique” which involves imagining breathing around a box. Inhale 4-5 seconds, hold 4-5 seconds, exhale 4-5 seconds, and hold 4-5 seconds. Doing this for 1 to 2 minutes can immediately calm the nervous system.

Journaling

Writing down what you’re feeling instead of keeping all your thoughts in your mind can be an excellent way to self-regulate your emotional states. An article from Psychology Today includes that it’s important to also interpret your experience as you write about it. Instead of just using “I” references, utilizing words like “because” “realize” or “understand” will provide more benefits in the writing process.

Meditating

Advanced neuroimaging shows that meditation practice can lead to volume changes in key areas of the brain related to stress. A researcher from Harvard Medical School, Sara Lazar, studied meditation and the results showed that after meditation training, traumatized participants reported improved mood and subjective well-being.

Grounding

This process involves standing outside, with your bare feet on the Earth (preferably grass, dirt, soil, sand, etc.)  and tuning in to how you feel.  The idea is to imagine yourself releasing your tension in a downward direction out of your body, enhancing awareness of your body.  Dr. Arielle Schwarts states that “as a resource for trauma recovery, grounding can help you reclaim a sense of safety, feel rooted in the present moment and strengthen your resilience.”

Conclusion

By implementing these healthy coping strategies daily, the autonomic nervous system will be more prepared to handle unforeseen stressful situations that can trigger a trauma response.  These are some of the tools that we have found to be helpful working with our clients. We would love to hear what has worked for you.

If you would like to talk to one our professionals at Simcoe Addiction and Mental Health about getting helping relating to traumatic experiences, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 1-833-304-8181.

Interested in learning about other treatment methods? Continue to our Treatment Methods page.