Caring for yourself through and after trauma can take many different forms and varieties from the spiritual to the practical. As the world responded to multiple crises in 2020: pandemic, the opioid epidemic, racial injustice, and gender-based crimes you may have read that we are going through collective trauma.
Being alert to survival is a common, normal response. In fact, you may have survived a trauma (single incident) or an ongoing series of traumas in your life (complex) in the recent or distant past as well. These events can include things like natural disasters, being a witness or a victim of violence, occupational stress for front-line workers, suicide, or chronic oppression based on your race, gender, sexuality, and much more. You are not alone in this is a part of your story. And alongside all attacks on the body, mind, and spirit on us as human beings there exists a parallel story of resistance, dignity preservation, and power that we as counsellors at Synergy are continually honored to be witness to.
However your coping looks right now, it’s okay. A prominent tool that has lots of information online about how to support oneself during emotions of overwhelm and/or flashbacks is GROUNDING. Simply put, it is orienting to the present moment and one’s external surroundings. There are many ways to do this and a popular one is: Use your senses – name 5 things you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. Click here for some additional options you may explore.
If you feel ready to add therapy to your self-care in coping with trauma, Synergy has therapists who offer varied types of support, including the use of tools such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), a trauma-informed intervention that can be offered both in-person and through telehealth. We are also able to offer an EMDR supplemental intervention called the Flash Technique which includes a way to process a traumatic and distressing memory without even having to talk about it. We’re here to collaborate on a plan of support that fits you when you are ready.