The Beginners Guide to Mental Health During Trauma Recovery
When you are in the beginning of trauma recovery, all of you can feel very vulnerable. The purpose of this article to honor your mental health! People often report a more immediate emotional response, feeling physically sick, and feeling mentally drained. Your mental health is important because it flows into the other parts of you. If you are feeling mentally drained you are less likely to ask for support, eat what is good for your body type, to move or exercise, and less likely to practice spiritual wellness. Each of these are important because they are large categories of what makes you- YOU. So let’s honor your mental health, we’ll start together at the beginning steps.
As a therapist I do my best to support people in each of these areas during trauma recovery. As I work through my caseload I have begun to see that maybe people aren’t prepared before they go to therapy and or do their own self work. Maybe, there needs to be a beginners guide. If you are just starting with trauma recovery- more in the discovery process, or if you are deep in your trauma recovery and feel overwhelmed, we can always go back to the beginning- beginning steps that is! If you’re new to my website check out my Services page!
WHAT IS HONORING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH?
What does it mean to honor something, what does it mean to you? In the dictionary it means “to hold high respect, great esteem.” The word honor comes from the Latin word honos, meaning dignity/grace. So what can that mean to you?
For me, I love that the root connection is dignity and grace. When we honor our mental health it really means to offer your mental health grace. Sometimes when we think about our mental health- or even further, our very self, we don’t hold high respect or great esteem. That truth is hard to acknowledge, but it’s there and it’s real. If you are not in a place to hold high respect towards yourself, then go deeper and offer yourself grace.
HOW TO GET STARTED
Tell a friend(s), or your therapist that you need to work at a slower pace in your recovery. It’s important to know yourself, and to tell others that trauma is not just the event or situation that occurred. Trauma is the study of what remains as a result. So if you are speeding through the recovery process, or being pressured to “get past it” that may actually not serve you long term. It will be important to tell the people in your life you need to take it slowly. This way you can honor and acknowledge the changes that occur, and work to get to a new comfort level.
Have playful resources nearby!
· Play is important in recovery! It gives you choices, it opens up your creative side when your logical brain is working so hard to right a wrong. Play can look like so many different things! Check out this article on all things play and adapt them to what you can do!
First off, “Play” is not just for children- so play!
Secondly, play looks different for everyone.
WHAT MY PLAY LOOKS LIKE
Garden: I play in the garden. Sure that may seem very adult but in truth, I sing the Star Wars ‘Dual of the Fates’ to the seeds as they grow- I feel powerful when I sing it and I put that energy into the seeds. I grow seeds into plants, I weed the garden, I plant things and watch them grow. I like to cut flowers and bring them to people in my life. That is fun for me! Throughout the process I sing, I dance, I squeal through the house and make my husband come outside to see them and I FaceTime my brother in law when the satsuma tree starts growing flower buds. That is engaging in play! The creative and energetic side of life is play.
Earth: I also like to squish my feet in wet grass and mud- both by myself and with my nephew. It’s a blast for me and he like to see the snails come slowly out of their shells and move around. We talk about what it’s like to live in a shell or under a blade of grass. Honestly I did that kind of thinking before my nephew, and now I get to share that play and learning with him. I have friends who love to color, love to paint, love to jog, or love to cook.
PLAY AND TRAUMA RECOVERY IS IMPORTANT
When learning more about your trauma, you become more protective- and that’s good! Defenses are great- no doubt about that-but if you are in a safe physical and mental space when you learn about your trauma then those defenses are not as needed as they once were. Combat defenses that will hold you back from growth when you are already safe enough by engaging in play. This further solidifies the narrative that you are not in the trauma event anymore, instead you are dealing with the aftermath of the trauma. This can help in engaging in the healing process and can help heal your inner self.
WHAT DOES PLAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
Identify what you’re curious about. Engaging in something you want to learn more about can be play!
What makes you laugh- what gives you a genuine laugh?
· Throwing wet sponge balls at a wall can help get anger out in a safe way!
· Board games with friends can be bonding without engaging in deep conversation
· Walking a dog or having your cat chase a string can be low energy play!
Can others add to the engagement? If you live in a neighborhood with a driveway or have a big side walk area consider doing a “story book stick figure” for each side walk block! Order sidewalk chalk on amazon or at the dollar store! Leave in instruction on the mailbox or someplace nearby in a page protector with tape on top (for water proof).
If you get stuck try these play activities out in my Play is Healing and Fun! Play therapy games and techniques for all ages.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN HONORING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
By getting this far in the article you’ve already done something good for yourself!
Having a pencil and notepad near you at all times with an emotion wheel can be a game changer!
· Check out Lindsay Braham’s Emotion-Sensation Feeling Wheel as a helpful way to place emotions with physical sensations!!
COMMON QUESTIONS/FAQ ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
Does Mental Health equal happiness?
· Yes and No. During your efforts of honoring your mental health, protecting your mental health, and challenging behaviors; you can ind happiness- yes. But more so the answer is no. Happiness is not a destination, even if we feel like we arrive at a place of happiness in our lives, something will always happen adjacent to us that can directly affect our happiness. Your mental health is important and so is the pursuit of happiness.
Will I be diagnosed with a mental disorder if I see a therapist?
· Short answer: It’s possible. Most therapists who accept insurance have to put a diagnostic code with your paperwork. The first diagnosis in therapy is typically “generalized anxiety disorder”. This is common among everyone I see- even outside of work! I see generalized anxiety when people are getting groceries, when people are at the movie theater, when people are preparing for a speech, or when people first log on to our TeleHealth sessions.
· If you don’t feel comfortable having a diagnosis in your health insurance paperwork then talk to your therapist about that!
Will I recover from trauma?
· Absolutely. Trauma recovery takes time, it takes active work and care towards yourself and the environment you are in. The healing process is important because it doesn’t get you back to where you were before, it gives you opportunities to learn and grow in a different way. Healing is important because it is an active choice that you make each step of the way, it gives you autonomy on the thing you didn’t ask for. Read this article on Feeling Stuck in Trauma Recovery from Beth Moore.
THE LAST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HONORING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Talking with people close to you is major- they don’t have to know all the details, they can just be told you are going through something and need their help. Writing down what is going on with your body and your emotions is a learning process, think about it like that if you need to! Knowing yourself and knowing what your body is saying will be important for the rest of your life. Engaging in play is like the emerging process- once you start opening yourself to play options you’re in the transformation process. Getting to explore and engage in things that make you laugh, smile, or simple be present shows how far you’ve come. Lastly, offer yourself grace. The process of recovery from trauma can be long, but you are not alone and you are doing just fine. Thank you for being here and thank you for fighting for yourself.
If you like this post, consider sharing it. Writing this was nerve wracking for me, I love what I do, and I love advocating for people, but putting myself out here was not easy. If this was in any way good for you, leave a comment, share it, or send me an e-mail. I would love to see the world change, but I can’t do it alone and you can’t do it alone. Join my Sacred Self Society e-mail list if you’d like weekly (just once a week) emails about mental health and free downloads!