Did I Deserve the Trauma I Went Through?
The guilt associated with trauma is a completely normal reaction that many people go through. When ignored or left untreated, this guilt can last for years or even a lifetime. The trauma you have experienced isn’t accompanied solely by guilt, though. Anxiety and depression, two of the leading mental health disorders, often co-exist alongside trauma and trauma-related conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation.
What Is Trauma?
As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), trauma occurs when a person is exposed to or witnesses “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.” These events can happen directly to an individual, or they can be a witness to them. Trauma itself is the emotional response a person endures as a result of the aforementioned events.
The act of seeing trauma can create this emotional response within the brain just as experiencing it firsthand would. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Responses to trauma can last for weeks to months before people start to feel normal again.” The majority of the time, these will slowly fade away as time goes on. However, this isn’t always the case. Responses to trauma can also progress into more serious mental health concerns.
Who Does Trauma Affect?
Terrible events can happen to anyone. You can be in the wrong place at the wrong time and experience something no one deserves. Neither the trauma nor the emotional response to it discriminates against any gender, ethnicity, or race. No matter who you are, where you live, what you’ve done, or what you believe, no one on this earth deserves to endure traumatic events. It is imperative that you know healing is available to you and that you deserve nothing but the best out of life.
What Can the Trauma I’ve Experienced Lead To?
Trauma, when left untreated, can lead to a number of disorders that can seriously impact your mental health and well-being. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the responses to trauma are often accompanied by other mental health concerns. Below, we discuss a brief overview of what these might be.
Anxiety and Depression
According to the National Institute of Mental Health NIMH, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) “involves a persistent feeling of anxiety or dread, which can interfere with daily life.” Due to the avoidance and fear associated with trauma, it is understandable why anxiety often co-exists with it. However, when ignored, it can progress to severe anxiety, thus resulting in a negative impact on your mental health and preventing you from enjoying life the way you deserve to. Additionally, anxiety and trauma have both been known to lead to depression.
Depression is “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.” Both anxiety and depression can come with serious mental health risks and can even lead to an increased chance of suicidal thoughts or attempts. Reach out for help today. Don’t wait. At Restoration Recovery, we can help you heal from the trauma you’ve experienced for a better and brighter future.
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as defined by the CDC, is “an intense physical and emotional response to thoughts and reminders of the event that last for many weeks or months after the traumatic event.” PTSD is considered to be a severe mental health disorder that surrounds the initial incident that caused the response to trauma. It can be debilitating and sometimes life-threatening due to the intense panic that can occur.
Dissociation
We’ve discussed trauma and its effects. Dissociation is a disorder that results from prolonged exposure to trauma. This is when the mind finds its own way to cope with the trauma it is faced with and disconnects from reality until the event has passed.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), dissociation is “characterized by an involuntary escape from reality characterized by a disconnection between thoughts, identity, consciousness, and memory.”
Wholesome Healing From the Trauma
No matter where you are in life, you deserve joy, you deserve peace, and above all, you deserve healing. The trauma you have faced is in the past, and you don’t have to keep fighting this fight you are in. You can overcome these challenges and find the happiness that waits on the other side. Life can present unfair and unjust circumstances. Bad things can happen to good people.
You never deserved what you went through, but you do deserve the bright future that is ahead of you. Here at Restoration Recovery, we believe in fresh starts and wholesome healing. We offer trauma-focused treatment plans that will help you not only recover from the shadow of the past but to become stronger and happier in spite of them. Show the world what you’re made of. Let’s walk this path together.
You are a strong and capable being who deserves happiness, love, and healing. The trauma you’ve experienced is like a second skin – one that you can shed, revealing a durable and stronger exterior that is more vibrant than ever before. You may feel as if you are being pulled under by the weight of the past, but this, too, shall pass. You never deserved the things you have been through, and you don’t deserve to be weighed down by them any longer. You can achieve a bright and joyous future that is free from the torments of what once was. Everything you wish could be, can be, and it all starts with treatment. Call Restoration Recovery today at (888) 290-0925.
