The state of our mental health often dictates how we feel about life, in general. When we feel happy, our outlook drastically changes for the better. We’re more energetic and optimistic. When our disposition is in the right place, we can handle life’s challenges better.
As much as we try to deny it, life seems to be easier to deal with when we’re not miserable or preoccupied with something. However, when we’re overly anxious or stressed, we feel that the weight of the world is on our shoulders. This is worse for those who live with trauma.
Trauma arises from situations or events that feel life-threatening or situations that make us feel overly helpless and unsafe. You can get traumatized from getting auto accident injuries in Miami, Florida the same way you can get traumatized from emotional abuse you’ve experienced in the comfort of your own home.
If you feel like you’re traumatized in some way, then your feelings are entirely valid. Here are the steps you can take when you fear that you’re dealing with trauma.
Learn to Manage Your Nervous System
Often, the emotional stress that we go through can have physical manifestations. For trauma sufferers, this emotional stress is more apparent when we’re confronted with something that reminds us of our trauma. For victims of sexual abuse, touch may stir up feelings of distress.
For people who got into accidents, when they’re confronted with things that remind them of their accident, they may freeze up or have a panic attack. This is why it’s important for people with trauma to learn calming exercises they can do wherever they are.
The simple act of breathing can help, especially if it’s mindful breathing. The 4-7-8 technique is especially helpful if you’re feeling riled up. It simply involves taking a breath for four seconds, holding it in for seven, and exhaling for 8 seconds.
Doing this repeatedly will distract you from focusing on your emotions but rather on your breath.
Make An Effort To Exercise
Exercise has been proven to help all sorts of physical ailments from obesity to joint pain. Exercise or movement, in general, can also help with mental health issues because of how the movements release endorphins and simultaneously burning adrenaline.
However, you don’t need to go full-out gym workout just to reap the benefits for your mental health. Simple exercises done for 30 minutes every day will give you a few minutes to focus on your body and its movement instead of on your thoughts or on how bad you feel.
If you’re not much for exercise, yoga might be a good alternative to get you moving. Regardless of the exercise, the most important thing you have to do is to be mindful. Pay close attention to how it feels to move or to the discomfort or pain it brings.
Having something else to think about will give your mind a break, even for a short while.
Get Professional Help
If you find that your trauma gets in the way of your day to day life, or if you feel that self-help isn’t doing it, then you always have the option to get professional help. In fact, it should be the first course of action to be taken if you feel like your mental health isn’t in the right space.
There’s no shame in seeing a specialist that can help you sort out through your emotions. Some things we just can’t deal with ourselves and the best thing we can do is make the effort to work through our issues with a qualified individual.
Remember, doing something about our mental health is something we owe to ourselves. Trauma may be hard to heal from, but the best we can do is take a step forward and act on it.