Health professionals can be disconcerted when trauma survivors come to them after recovery, only to find on reevaluation that symptoms have returned.

Trauma is a serious assault on the functioning of a human being’s life.

What happens that gets in the way of an everyday activity like paying bills or solving problems so that all of a sudden it all seems like a monumental feat?

Could it be a day or two before, or after a holiday gathering, that negative emotions or physical symptoms are triggered, and a survivor recalls a traumatic moment that comes up without warning?

Trauma happens to people who have experienced a psychologically distressing and life-threatening event. A person who has survived an accident, injury, illness, physical, verbal, emotional or sexual abuse, or other crime; a person who is a war veteran, military officer, or refugee from a war-torn or violent country; it can happen to a search and rescue worker; a survivor of a natural disaster or a bystander of a traumatic event.

A survivor may relive moments of terror, feelings of guilt, remorse, anger, or disillusionment with life.

Reliving a traumatic event can stir up emotions that cause tiredness, low energy, crying, or a lack of concentration or impatience with others. Angry outbursts happen for no reason. The memory of the trauma comes through flashbacks and nightmares, and can become so severe that it is difficult to lead a normal life.

Without a trauma survivor’s knowledge, the belief that healing has taken place and recovery is over and has ended the ravages on the mind. Thoughts, feelings and emotions are stirred. Without warning, the symptoms return to bother. The ability to manage simple tasks at home or at work becomes daunting.

Joint pain or an inability to sleep at night can occur during a traumatic flashback. Agitation and self-inquiry like “who am I?” and “Will I ever feel normal? Or “Am I going crazy?”

Disharmony grows in relationships and the clouds of doom become a veil over the survivor.

The Canadian Mental Health Association reports that this type of shock can develop into acute anxiety or, more commonly, “post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)”.

PTSD is one of several conditions known as an anxiety disorder. Affecting approximately 1 in 10 people, it is characterized by reliving a psychologically traumatic situation long after any physical danger involved has passed.

Being careful to know and understand the disturbing emotions that could arise after flashbacks are vital life skills tools.

Self-awareness and self-care is an arsenal for an episodic-traumatic memory.

Life can suddenly become overwhelming because an appearance of images, conversations, smells, or sounds serves as a reminder of something happening now related to a traumatic event back then.

Psychology Today reports that PTSD affects an estimated 7.7 million American adults. It is often accompanied by depression, substance abuse, gambling, eating, and anxiety disorders.

When other conditions are properly diagnosed and treated, the likelihood of successful treatment increases.

Mayo Clinic oncologist Edward T. Cregan MD explains that dealing with traumatic stress is an ongoing process. He explains that we will be of more help to our loved one (to ourselves) if we learn about the effects of trauma.

Life skills can help people tap into a wide range of problem-solving behaviors to deal with challenges at work, home, or socially. The extent to which a person with trauma integrates coping behaviors into their lives after their trauma is itself a measure of success and deserves much support.

In trauma recovery, people learn during their healing that it is important to accept feelings of denial, stay active, seek support, face the reality of triggers, and ground yourself after a flashback.

Trauma survivors need to take time to process the feelings associated with the experience and know how to find quiet moments to be alone or find someone in family or friends to share the experience with. They need to know that sharing the experience is accepted without judgment.

The key is to recognize that trauma can arise at different times of the year.

Dr. Cregan describes that the best way to deal with trauma is to find some ways to normalize it: to think about not being overwhelmed or scared by symptoms and difficulties (instead of catastrophic thoughts like “It’s happening again, I’m back to starting point” and emphasize coping strategies such as staying active, taking care of yourself, seeking social support).

Family members and friends care deeply, but believe that healing must be done quickly. This can make it difficult for a trauma survivor to heal. Advocating that “life is too short” and “stop focusing on the past, get over it” prolongs the healing period.

Healing takes time and is different for everyone.

Family physicians remarkably agree that understanding and expressing feelings, coping with anger associated with trauma, and safeguarding thought processes so as not to undermine the ability to cope with the day to day is part of a survivor’s essential life skills. day.

Awareness is essential.

Emotional wounds are slow to heal or, in some cases, may never heal.

Emotions from a traumatic event can take years to surface, and when they do, it’s a rude awakening. A realization emerges to reexamine the memory and the pain associated with it. What can happen is a memory of more memories, adding to the original trauma. Once this happens, it’s worth the processing time for the survivor to get over it and prepare to come out the other side stronger.

Trauma can cause ongoing problems with self-esteem. It affects the management of simple skills for life. Getting over trauma is easier for some than others. Some will inspire others who have just entered the dark stage of a life-changing journey.

The impact of trauma on the whole person and the variety of therapeutic problems are what must be addressed. Recovery occurs when the person is ready to move on from the pain.

The symptoms come back in fragments, like a flashback in a movie trailer; can subsidize.

Dr. Creagan believes that we can help a loved one with post-traumatic stress by being willing to listen, but not pushing. He picks a time when you’re both ready to talk.

During the process of recovering from trauma, it can take months, years, and even decades. For some, PTSD never goes away.

Trauma attacks a person’s ability to manage simple life skills. Generally, this is necessary to help understand the world around us or learn the tools that allow us to lead a full life. Daily tasks, going to school or work, building relationships, or personal feelings of belonging or connection become visibly exhausting.

Trauma symptoms interfere with fulfilling ambitions to live to their fullest potential.

There are many treatments available for PTSD to meet the unique needs of the survivor.

Everyone is different, so a treatment done by someone with experience in PTSD may work for one person and may not work for another.

Life coaching is available to provide supportive listening, not attempting to repair, but to help resolve some of the strong feelings such as shame, anger, or guilt. A life coach can offer strategies to help map out a plan to overcome PTSD and work toward life goals based on a new method of human functioning.

A life skills approach to trauma involves finding a new balance in personal life. Breaking through another wall of understanding and self-discovery during trauma recovery is about learning to live with a new agenda of coping skills. It is worth investing time to find what works best during healing from the effects of trauma.

Giving up is not an option, but seeking self-love and understanding, or getting the help you need, bring added success to the especially brave life of a survivor living with the stress of past trauma.