Survivor Series Part 2: Surviving Trauma
Have you ever experienced something in your life that you SURVIVED, but surviving was completely DRAINING? This could include experiencing:
Loss of a loved one
Natural disaster such as a flood that completely displaces you and your family
Sexual or physical abuse
Other unwanted/uncomfortable sexual experiences
Witnessing Abuse
Chronic illness or disease that prevents you from working, creates financial disruption, etc
Survival can literally take everything you have, or it can definitely feel like that. However, just because we “make it through in one piece” does not mean we are not in pieces.
What I mean by this is that it is very possible to make it out of life threatening or very impactful situations (physically) and be broken (emotionally, mentally, spiritually) into a million pieces…AND to even be broken into a million pieces that no one sees because you can still function. The word that is used to describe this is TRAUMA. Trauma occurs when you experience a negative event and your experience of that event has LONG STANDING negative effects. These negative effects can include being easily startled or feeling “jumpy”, feeling like the world is unsafe or a bad place, feelings of shame and self blame, and problems sleeping to name a few effects. This means that something could have happened 10 years ago and STILL impact you today.
As a matter of fact there is an entire field of research dedicated to the impact of experiencing things in your childhood and how those events can impact you into adulthood and cause behaviors such as: drug use, sexual promiscuity, inability to form trusting healthy relationships, and early death.
Why did I share all of that information? It’s definitely not to make you feel bad or to intentionally create feelings of discomfort. I said those things, to make the point that you can physically SURVIVE an experience and be emotionally and psychologically damage. My challenge to you as we begin this journey from SURVIVING to THRIVING is to :
Redefine surviving and evaluate what you have been through.
Identify the events that you PHYSICALLY survived, but are emotionally broken from
Seek help to address those issues through prayer, therapy, reading, support groups, talking with a friend or loved one, etc
Develop a mindset and desire to move beyond “making it” (surviving) to THRIVING