Whether it comes from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, neglect, loss of a parent, or other adverse experiences, the effects of childhood trauma are complex. So, how to deal with childhood trauma? Fortunately, it is possible to heal from it, though it requires time, patience, and intentional effort.
Here are practical steps that can help take control of the healing and move toward emotional well-being.
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Practical Steps for Healing From Childhood Trauma
The following steps may guide anyone struggling with the aftermath of childhood trauma toward emotional recovery:
1. Acknowledge and Accept the Trauma
The first step on how to deal with childhood trauma is often the hardest: acknowledging that trauma occurred. Many people who experience childhood trauma tend to suppress or deny the experience because confronting painful memories is overwhelming. However, avoiding the past only perpetuates its power over the present.
It is important to accept that the childhood trauma happened, even if you feel overwhelmed by the emotions tied to it. First of all, if you’re wondering how to deal with childhood trauma, you can TAP HERE to learn your score and find out how it may influence your life. This acknowledgment does not mean you are defining yourself by your trauma or letting it control your future; instead, it is the beginning of the process of reclaiming your emotional health.
Then, you can talk to a trusted loved ones about what happened, or simply sitting with yourself and naming the experiences that have affected you. You might also keep a journal to express your feelings without judgment.
2. Seek Professional Support
If you’re wondering how to deal with childhood trauma, professional help may be an answer. Working with a therapist provides a safe, supportive space to work through trauma in a healthy and structured way. It helps people challenge negative thought patterns and beliefs that were formed as a result of trauma.
3. Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries with people, environments, and situations that may re-trigger or retraumatize you is also a way how to deal with childhood trauma. This might mean distancing yourself from certain people, even if it is friendship, avoiding places that feel unsafe, or learning to say “no” when you need space to heal.
Boundaries are essential for self-preservation and emotional well-being. They send a message to others (and to yourself) that your emotional health is important and must be protected.
4. Practice Mindfulness and Grounding Techniques
Consistent mindfulness practice can help reduce the emotional intensity of trauma triggers over time. Some common mindfulness practices include:
- Breathing exercises: Taking slow, deep breaths to calm the nervous system and reduce anxiety.
- Body scanning: This involves mentally scanning the body for tension and consciously relaxing areas of discomfort.
- Grounding techniques: These techniques help you stay connected to the present. For example, focusing on your five senses (what you can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste) can redirect your mind away from distressing thoughts.
5. Practice Self-Compassion
Trauma survivors often experience guilt, shame, or self-blame, especially if the trauma was inflicted by others, according to a study on trauma treatment. Overcoming these feelings is vital for emotional healing. Learning to practice self-compassion is a solution to how to deal with childhood trauma.
Self-compassion includes:
- Self-forgiveness: Understanding that the trauma was not your fault and that you did the best you could with the resources you had at the time.
- Self-kindness: Instead of criticizing yourself for your struggles, be gentle and understanding with your emotions.
- Mindful awareness: Recognizing when you are being overly self-critical and gently guiding your thoughts away from judgment toward understanding and compassion.
6. Reframe the Narrative
Trauma often leads people to internalize negative beliefs about themselves, such as feeling “broken,” “unlovable,” or “weak.” As a result, these beliefs, can create a self-fulfilling cycle, where the people feel unworthy of happiness or success.
If you think about how to deal with childhood trauma, reframing the narrative may help you. It involves consciously changing how you view yourself and your experience. Instead of seeing your trauma as something that defines you, try to view it as a part of your story that you survived but does not determine your value or future.
Therapy can assist with this reframing process, but it’s also something you can work on independently by reframing negative thoughts into more empowering beliefs. For example, if you have the belief “I am unworthy of love,” you might work on replacing it with “I am deserving of love and connection, and I am healing.”
7. Engage in Creative or Expressive Outlets
Creative activities allow people to channel their emotions in ways that words alone cannot always capture. Whether it’s drawing, writing, dancing, painting, or playing music, creative outlets can serve as a form of self-expression, release, and even therapy.
Expressing yourself creatively allows you to process emotions in a safe and constructive way. Even if you don’t consider yourself “artistic,” experimenting with different forms of creative expression can be a cathartic experience.
