Today, Voice Your Stories shines a light on the long-term effects of trauma.
Do you often have nightmares about past horrifying experiences?
Are you struggling with persistent anxiety or depression?
Do you feel trapped in a web of negative self-perception?
Do you avoid people, places, or activities that trigger painful memories?
Are you misusing alcohol or drugs, or finding it difficult to trust others?
Do you constantly feel on edge or unsafe?
If so, you might be living with trauma.
Remember, the first step to healing unresolved trauma is recognizing that you are living with it. Healing does not mean completely erasing the long-term effects of trauma, but developing coping mechanisms to face these situations. Healing allows you to regain control.
Embarking on this journey is personal, and the earlier, the better. Today, you can begin by honestly asking yourself: Am I living in trauma? What long-term effects have I carried for years?
Sometimes, answering these questions is the first step in uncovering a secret you have carried for so long. Acknowledging it can feel like taking a fresh breath—like someone finally unchaining themselves from a cage. Healing begins the moment you stop running from your pain and start naming it.
It is not weakness to admit you are hurting or having long-term effects of trauma; it is courage. And in that courage lies the doorway to freedom, wholeness, and the life you truly deserve.
Putting it into Practice: A Mini Toolkit
Here are steps you can try to integrate coping into your daily life:
- Get professional help if possible. Find a trauma-informed therapist.
- Choose one grounding exercise and use it when anxiety or flashbacks arise (e.g. “5-4-3-2-1” senses, breathing).
- Set small daily routines—sleep, meals, a walk, journaling.
- Pick a mindfulness or meditation practice to try (even 5–10 minutes a day).
- Find one person or group you trust to share parts of your story.
- Engage in a body-based practice (yoga, gentle exercise, stretching) to help soothe the nervous system.
- Keep a thought journal to notice recurring negative beliefs and work on reframing them.
