A neon sign says “breathe” in a healthy vegetation | Photo by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash
Healing childhood trauma is a process where you get your old self back from the grips of your past’s shadows.
We all hide monsters in our closets hoping they would disintegrate into nothingness. However, it does not go like that. These monsters get into our minds and affect our personalities. Healing childhood trauma is not always easy as it means we need to face the monsters again, trying to slay them with our own swords of justice.
Dry Your Eyes, Girl by Christina Balzani shares the author’s way of coping with trauma after childhood sexual abuse. This book aims to help readers reclaim their voices that once got lost in the shadows of the past. It provides a safe space for those who would want to try to accept themselves back, heal, and move forward with life. Readers will find ideas on how to thrive after childhood trauma and lead their lives on a better path.
Healing childhood trauma is difficult as it means you have to find yourself back to the moment where the shadow of your past grips you by the neck. As a survivor, you will have to muster your strength, bring your old self back, and move forward.
Here are ways to help you cope with childhood trauma that haunts your dreams at night:
Acceptance is a Key
The first step in healing childhood trauma is to accept what occurred. This first step is also one of the most difficult. It requires you to be transparent and accept yourself from the past and all the memories that come with it. You may meditate to dig deeper into yourself and learn more about how you could navigate with the weight of your trauma until it becomes lighter and lighter as you slowly accept everything.
Acknowledge the Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma affects an individual in so many levels, including one’s physicality and emotional ability to connect with other people. Since trauma can trigger mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, it is important to acknowledge it. Healing childhood trauma includes mindfulness to help value yourself, trust others, and self-advocate. It also requires one to be honest about the experiences and current feelings about people, events, and/or objects.
Two hands bound by chain | photo by Мария Кашина
Ask for Help
Any type of trauma may make a patient hyper-independent, which means that an individual will prefer being alone and avoid others to protect their well-being. Asking for help will help you heal faster as it gives you more power and control over your trauma. Meditating allows you to be more open, which means that you can allow yourself to be vulnerable and let other people guide you through your storms. Connecting with the professionals will help you find more ways to heal childhood trauma.
Stay Connected with the Higher Power
Meditating will help you breathe through your hard times and steer yourself to find positivity in life. However, staying connected with God through prayers and devotions will also help you find a purpose. Keeping a strong relationship with God allows you to understand yourself better, as you know that God is always there for everyone. You may dedicate time for prayer every day and have a great conversation with God the almighty when coping with childhood trauma.
Dry Your Eyes, Girl by Christina Balzani shares how the author keeps a strong relationship with God in healing childhood trauma. It also aims to let the readers trust in Jesus to find a way to transformation and forgiveness.
Understand Your Trauma Triggers
Learning about things that trigger your trauma will give you the upper hand to dispel the negativity of your past experiences. Once you accept yourself and acknowledge your trauma, you may find a way to understand your trauma triggers. With this, you can easily traverse through tough situations that may come your way.
Practice Staying in the Present
Healing childhood trauma involves you digging through your past. Your past experiences will become the monsters that haunt your dreams at night, keeping you awake in fear and feeling of failure and defeat. One thing to keep yourself from the haunting of the past is to stay in the present. Mindfulness allows you to stay grounded. Practice staying in the present to keep yourself from dissociating and letting the trauma disconnect you from the physical world. Take a deep breath to help you keep your attention in the present. Breathing exercises will help you steer away from anxiety, stress, and dissociative tendencies.
Remove Toxic People from Your Circle
Your trauma may be rooted in the toxicity of people around you. If you notice that certain people give you anxiety, stress, and emotional instability, cut them off your circle. It is important to set boundaries against people who practice toxic behaviors, such as manipulation, malicious intent, and emotional abuse. Healing childhood trauma means you have to be in a safe environment without the people who will cause you a lot of emotional problems.
Write
Writing allows you to be more open about yourself and have a meaningful conversation. When you create a journal or a diary, you are allowing yourself to unload some heavy emotions and seal them in the pages. With this, you are finding ways healing childhood trauma by letting go of the baggage through words on paper with all honesty.
Exercise
Engaging in physical activities will help you heal inner child trauma. With this, you get to have deep breaths, learn to meditate, be mindful of your present, and stay fit and healthy. Physical activities are effective ways of finding an avenue to healing childhood trauma. They also give you the best chance to have a good night’s sleep and regulate emotions properly.
You can always learn to cope with childhood trauma. Christina Balzani’s Dry Your Eyes, Girl is available in bookstores if you want to have ideas on how a sexual abuse survivor coped with the monsters of her past.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Healing childhood trauma is not always easy as it allows you to tap into your past self, giving you an insight to relive the past. It involves the following:
- Accepting what occurred
- Acknowledging the trauma
- Asking for help
- Understanding trauma triggers
- Staying in the present
- Staying connected with God
- Removing toxic people from your life
- Writing, and
- Exercising
With these, you are giving yourself a safe space while on a journey to recovery.
- Addressing Childhood Trauma Triggers: Breaking the Cycle - January 18, 2025
- Outdoor Activities Support Trauma Recovery: Here’s Why - January 13, 2025
- Managing Unresolved Childhood Trauma for Those in Progress - December 12, 2024
