Practical Ways to Overcome Trauma

There’s a lot of advice out there. If you’re dealing with a trauma in your life or living painfully in the aftermath, you have probably tried to find relief through self-help books or random internet pages. These often promise relief if you just do one thing or give their idea a try. While this article won’t promise a miracle or instant fix, it does offer practical ways to help you overcome trauma in your life.

Identifying Trauma

Unfortunately, we all have to deal with it at some point. Because everyone’s circumstances and coping abilities are different, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to overcoming trauma. Trauma ranges in severity, not necessarily because of the event itself, but in your ability to manage it. What might seem catastrophic to one person could be a minor setback for another. But whatever is causing you emotional distress is valid and should be addressed.

Acknowledge what happened

Write down what happened to you. If you want to overcome trauma, you first have to acknowledge that it exists. You have to understand it. And you need to communicate it, even if it’s just to your diary.

Writing things down by hand slows your brain as it attempts to keep pace with your hands. When you’re in trauma or living in the wake, your brain might reel and spin out of control. Writing your traumatic event down by hand can greatly slow these racing thoughts because your brain tries to keep pace with how fast you can form words on paper.

Writing by hand also helps you organize your thoughts and can give you greater insights into the situation. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, or making it look neat. Just get your feelings and experiences down on paper.

Focus on all aspects of the event and the subsequent aftermath. Write about the factual sequence of events, how those around you acted, and then how all of those elements culminated into how you feel. Think about how your feelings have dictated your actions, too. When you write down your trauma, looking at it from every angle, you will more likely find clarity and see how events and reactions are connected.

Take it to God

While you’re sorting out your thoughts and feelings and recalling the details of the traumatic event, you should invite God into the process. Recalling the trauma can be overwhelming and cause the same strong feelings to surface that you faced when you first went through it. That’s why it’s important to bring it to God.

You don’t need to rely on deep theological reasoning or an extensive vocabulary. God will not judge you on your misspelled words or the frantic scratch-outs covering your page. He wants you to be honest about your fears, feelings, and questions.

Your prayer can be telling God what happened and how it made you feel. This can be a verbal conversation, a written letter to God, or simply thoughts in your own head directed at Him. Ask Him for clarity and grace as you progress through the healing process. Read Scripture. Memorize helpful verses that remind you of God’s presence, such as “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18, NIV)

Talk it out

While you’ve likely already taken your burdens to God, it’s also helpful to talk with a professional therapist. While your relationship with God is foundational, humans were made to support each other. God can use your therapist to be His hands and feet in a practical way in your life.

Sharing your experiences with someone you trust can provide some healing as it removes the barrier of isolation. If telling your story in full sounds overwhelming, start small. Even sharing a single memory or feeling can lighten your emotional load and signal to your brain that you’re not alone.

If you still haven’t figured out your trauma or your response to it, that’s okay. They can help you process your thoughts as you recall the events and comprehend the consequences. Your therapist doesn’t expect you to relay it in perfectly curated sentences. What’s important is that you let someone hear the truth of what happened, from your perspective, and without interruption.

Best of all, your Christian therapist can help guide you through the healing process, always pointing you back to God. They will use biblical principles to walk you through the valley and help you heal from the trauma you’ve experienced. They can give you practical advice, unique to your specific needs.

Anchor in a routine

Trauma and the aftermath have a way of throwing everything in your life off balance, even those things that seem unrelated to the trauma itself. Your routine that used to feel normal can suddenly feel impossibly tricky and daunting. That’s why establishing small routines can help. They give you small, obtainable victories and structure.

These routines don’t have to be life-changing. They can be simple things like waking up and going to bed at roughly the same time each day. Make a routine of eating healthy foods and drinking plenty of water. Add in some physical exercise, even if it’s just a five-minute stretching regimen. When life looks unpredictable, it can be calming to find traces of your old normal life or to establish predictability in your new one.

Practice predictability

There’s comfort to be found in the familiar. Have you ever noticed that if your life feels off kilter, your brain seeks familiarity? Watching the same television show over and over may seem repetitive and boring to an outsider, but if you’re dealing with anxiety in the midst of an unpredictable or unfamiliar situation, that repetition is comforting. No triggers. No jump scares. No fear of impending doom. Just familiarity.

The same can be said about going to familiar places. While some places you used to frequent might act as a trigger, reminding you of your trauma, going to familiar places can also bring you mentally back to your life, pre-trauma. If you used to enjoy a walk down a particular path or frequented a specific coffee house, revisiting these places can remind you that life is still happening and that you’re still a part of it.

Find forgiveness

Forgiveness is often the foundation of overcoming trauma because trauma has to originate somewhere. Maybe your trauma was due to your own poor decisions. This means that you are likely holding resentment toward yourself that needs to be forgiven. Maybe your trauma came from someone else’s poor decisions or evil intent. You will have to forgive them for their part in your experience to overcome it.

Sometimes trauma happens because of a series of natural events beyond the control of any human. In that case, maybe you are holding resentment against God. You need to understand that God never promised a life free of chaos and strife, but that He would be present every step of the way. His ways are perfect, and His love for you is perfect. Just because something happened that caused you grief doesn’t mean God deserted you.

Give yourself grace

You’ve likely given others in your life far more grace than you have given yourself. Healing from trauma is not a linear experience. You will have good days, and you will have bad days. Don’t beat yourself up for crying or feeling anxious. Don’t chastise yourself every time you remember things you wish you didn’t. These little hiccups simply mean you’re human and that your capacity to overcome is finite.

God knows. He sees your struggle and hears the prayers of your heart. He will reward your efforts and forgive your mishaps. He loves you dearly, even on the days you can’t talk yourself out of bed.

Christian Counseling for Overcoming Trauma

If you need help processing and overcoming your trauma, a Christian counselor is a good resource. Contact the office to learn how to get started with a counselor to support you in your journey.