The Three Traps on the Trauma Healing Journey
People struggling with trauma-related challenges and PTSD may fall into these three traps that can prevent them from healing.
These are:
1. THE SILENCE TRAP: The Silence Trap is at the very beginning of the trauma recovery and healing journey. When you have fallen into this trap, the focus of life is essentially on silently suffering, denial (or non-acceptance) of life's challenges. You experience intense fear, shame or helplessness.
2. THE SELF-PITY & GRIEVANCE TRAP: The Self Pity & Grievance trap is when you find the strength and courage to talk about the issues and challenges. As you start sharing with others, you find sympathy and support, which makes you feel better. You may find groups of people who have either faced similar situations or are keen to offer comfort. People in these groups give advice, strategies and approaches, or share their grievances and challenges. Talking about your experience, sharing what you have suffered and how you have been victimised will make you attached to the temporary relief this offers. While you remain in this space, it may make you feel better, but it stops your recovery and healing journey.
3. THE CONSTANT SEARCH TRAP: The constant search trapis the stage when ongoing sharing, discussions and sympathy prompts you (still struggling) to start looking for solutions to resolve your issues. You collect more and more information about possible approaches, strategies, methods, systems that could help. However, as this search continues, the confusion and distrust keeps growing, so to take the next step on any approach, method or system becomes almost impossible.
Also, one trap may lead to another trap in both forward and backward directions, thereby preventing you from genuinely addressing the deeper issues and moving ahead on the journey of recovery and healing.
QUESTION:
Do you recognise any of these traps affecting you or someone close to you?
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