Processing the Trauma of 2020
This year truly has been a roller coaster of emotions and I don't know about you but sometimes it feels like I don't even play an active role in my life anymore. Stuff just happens and I have to deal with it. Naturally, this isn't good for our mental health.
It’s trauma, mama!
+headaches
+chest pain
+nausea
+Trouble connecting with loved ones
+strong emotions (moody, anxious, sad, overwhelmed, irritated)
+sensitivity to loud noises, smells, or other things around you
+change in appetite
+trouble enjoying things you used to do
+nightmares
+insomnia
All of those can be symptoms that someone is processing trauma. And while you might be hesitant to view what you went through over the last year as trauma, I want to encourage you to reconsider.
Trauma can be huge life things like war, sexual abuse, child neglect or a life threatening illness. But trauma can also be things like bullying, relationship changes, job changes, car wrecks, natural disasters, etc.
The problem with trauma is that when you don't take the time to effectively process and deal with it, it kinda takes over your life. It drastically influences how you respond with emotions and behaviors.
Processing Trauma
So I got to thinking about what I could do to help not just process events but also feel as though I'm regaining control and I came up with this exercise. At the end of every day, or sometimes just once a week during traumatic times, I will fill this out. In each box I will write down things that day that triggered fear, sadness or joy, times when I felt encouragement, what procrastinations I was dealing with, what goals I did and didn't accomplish.
The reason I chose these categories is because in order to effectively change one's thought patterns/behaviors we must know and process why they are there. For example, today, something that caused me fear was losing my parents. I was writing a post about questions I wish I could've asked my parents and began to freak out wondering if I have asked my parents all the questions I want to ask them. My writing that down on paper I am able to choose what I will do about that. I'm currently preparing a document of questions for my parents. 🤣😂🤣😂
Truly though, doing this exercise has helped me find meaning from my experiences and know which things are things that I could change and which things I can't change but can grow from that growing forward. I share this with you so that hopefully you can benefit from it too! Click below to download the document or click and hold the photos to save them to your phone and then print! :)
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