Experiencing a traumatic event could very well change the course of your life.
The event could be a house fire, divorce, death of a loved one, sexual assault, or something completely different. No matter what you went through, the experience will undeniably impact your mind, body, and emotions.
Some recognize the life-changing moment, while others attempt to bottle up the pain.
The “bottling up” method is problematic in that trauma tends to bubble up at unexpected times, interrupting your life.
Rather, the earlier you treat trauma the better. Early trauma treatment not only empowers you to recover, but also dethrones the negative elements of your experience as well.
Here’s why.
Validation is Vital in Early Stage Trauma
As you may know, trauma often produces feelings of shock and disbelief. Essentially, it’s the wave of negative feelings that can bowl you over after a traumatic event occurs.
Suddenly, the world can become a much different place for you. Untrusting. Cold. Unsafe.
Many people report feeling as if they’re “going crazy,” sensing confusion, bewilderment, or ambivalence. It’s not uncommon to get “lost” in your emotions, wandering around inside your own head.
Which is exactly why early trauma treatment is preferable.
Validation is vital during these early stages of trauma recovery. Not a lot of people feel comfortable admitting their emotions during the direct aftermath phase. These emotions can be extremely painful, confusing, and don’t always feel natural.
But they are natural. Incredibly natural.
A therapist specializing in trauma can help you to acknowledge your uncomfortable feelings, move through them, and release them so you can accept healing.
Symptoms Change But Don’t Go Away
The impact of trauma is stealthy. In other words, you’re going to react differently to the traumatic event one week after, as opposed to one year after. However, although your symptoms may change, the trauma never does.
It will impact you. And it will try its hardest to make you hurt.
Many people assume since they no longer feel as if they’re in the middle of a “shockwave” that they’re recovering nicely. Failing to realize another part of their life has been impacted—sleeping issues, weight change, relationship troubles, cognitive decline—they allow trauma to slowly take over their life.
Early trauma treatment exposes the symptoms. All likely symptoms.
Identifying and calling out areas of your life the trauma impacted, a therapist can help uncover the shadows of trauma.
The sooner you start treating your trauma-induced wounds, the stronger and more educated you will become about trauma recovery.
It’s not always an easy road-recovery from a traumatic event. But you’ll know what to expect when you elect for early trauma treatment.
Time Doesn’t Heal All Wounds
One of the most misleading notions is that time heals all wounds. Even when it comes to the physical body, time does not heal all wounds. Ask any athlete about the validity of this idea.
Sure, you need time to process and to heal. But that alone doesn’t cut it.
Just like an athlete nurses an injured sprain or break with therapeutic rehabilitation, so will you nurse your internal wounds.
You’ll stretch your emotional muscles, learning to trust again. Positive affirmations will lift you up and redirect your mind towards healing, moment by moment. Learning new skills to safeguard your overall health, you’ll grow and learn about yourself.
Just as trauma could change your life for the worse, early trauma treatment can change your life for the better.
More than anything, early trauma treatment takes back the power the traumatic event tried to steal from you. By reaching out for help right away, you take back your life.
After all, it belongs to you.
Take the first step…
If you are ready to explore the impact of trauma in your own life, I would like to help. Please contact me via phone or email so we can discuss how we might work together to achieve your therapeutic goals as quickly and effectively as possible.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Linda K. Laffey, MFT
