Medicine is supposed to help you. Doctors and nurses are supposed to help you. But sometimes, they can cause harm too. Medical trauma is real. If you’ve experienced it, you probably struggle with anxiety or depression. Maybe you can’t sleep, and you avoid doctors as much as you can. You can’t stop thinking about what happened, and it’s hurting you.
But you don’t have to live like this. Learning how to cope with the trauma you’re carrying and start to heal it can help you move forward with a more peaceful life.
Accept Your Feelings
The thing about trauma is that it leaves you with messy feelings that are hard to understand. It might mean there are things you feel that you’d rather ignore. But this doesn’t help you move forward. It just hides the pain and lets it fester.
The first step in recovery is to identify how the trauma makes you feel. After all, you can’t deal with things if you don’t know what they are. And once you know what trauma brings in you, you can accept it for what it is. Only then can you begin to move forward with your life.
Be Kind to Yourself
It’s easy to judge yourself.
You’re overreacting. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Nobody else in your position is acting like this. Why haven’t you recovered yet? You should be sleeping better. You shouldn’t be worrying so much. What’s wrong with you?
The more you talk to yourself like this, the more you’re harming yourself. What you went through was traumatic, and that kind of experience leaves behind scars and confusing feelings and reactions. Of course, you’re not magically going to be okay without a little time and effort.
So, instead of judging yourself, try to extend some compassion. You’re in a difficult situation. And you’re doing your best. Really, that’s all any of us can do.
Breathe Deeply
One of the best ways to get a handle on the anxiety that comes with trauma is to learn how to breathe deeply. It sounds simple, but it’s not always. The truth is, none of us are used to breathing deeply. It’s something we have to learn. And now, it’s the perfect time for you to do so.
There are different ways to breathe deeply. It’s easy to find a few exercises that teach you how to breathe deeply and with focus. Meditation is always helpful and focuses heavily on deep breathing. But if you get too restless, yoga is also an option. It’s a slow exercise that involves breathing throughout every practice. It teaches you far more than you might think.
Move Your Body
Exercise is good to get you out of your head. And that, at the end of the day, is what you need the most when you’re dealing with intrusive thoughts and anxiety. What kind of exercise you do doesn’t really matter. You can go for a short walk every day if that’s all you want to do. Or you can take dance lessons, take up yoga, or go for a run every morning.
It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you’re moving your body every day.
Counseling
Medical trauma is a difficult thing to deal with, and you’ll likely struggle to overcome it alone. That doesn’t make you weak. It just means you’ve gone through a terrible situation.
There’s nothing wrong with needing help. So, don’t hesitate to reach out and make an appointment. We are here to help you. We are here to help you cope with what happened to you. We are here to make sure you don’t keep suffering for so long.
To schedule an appointment, email us today at hello@awakencounseling.com.
