Trauma, whether emotional or physical, is the common denominator of many mental and physical illnesses. Unhealthy coping mechanisms often lead to addictions. When we are affected emotionally, for example, our physiology is also affected. If we are under a lot of stress, our immune system is compromised and may lead to the development of disease.
Our trauma experience does not define who we are. Trauma is a threat that we don’t always know how to deal with. Trauma is not the bad event that happened, but what happens inside of us as a result of that bad event.
As we come out of the intensity of the experience and begin to internally process what happened, what we tell ourselves can harm us. When we tell ourselves lies and believe those lies it creates trauma. Sometimes what we tell ourselves does not seem to us to be clearly a lie, but these thinking errors can lead to unnecessary emotional distress, pain and suffering.
Trauma can be intensely spiritual. That is why it is good to evaluate our thoughts and feelings while we converse in prayer to God and compare our thoughts and feelings with the principles found in God’s Word (Bible). If our thoughts and feelings are incorrect, we can choose to replace them with truths to break the cycle of additional trauma and pain.
In our search for love, we can develop a way of relating to others that protects us from being hurt again. To cope, we can be unloving to others, defensive, aggressive, and act in ways that prevent them from coming into our lives so as not to be harmed. This often makes things worse. As the distress becomes obvious, we may develop a longing in us to be in a better place. We can turn things around. There is wisdom that can be gained from our trauma. We can learn from our suffering. With God’s help we can heal! We can set our thoughts and feelings aright. We can break any rigid barriers we’ve created. We can let others get close to us and allow ourselves to be loved.
As long as we are on this earth, we will all be affected in some way by sin, pain and suffering. How we choose to think and cope with our circumstances makes all the difference.
To Your Best Health,
Gabriela Garcia