Child abuse causes PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). In its simplest terms, healing from PTSD is all about finding a healthy way to manage “overwhelm.”
Trauma is anything that impairs your ability to cope. Trauma manifests as an instant feeling of overwhelm. What happened to you or what was done to you or what was said to you when you were an abused child overwhelmed you, destroyed your sense of safety, and shifted your natural fight/flight/freeze response into high gear.
The problem for child abuse survivors is that the abuse happened regularly. It occurred every day or week or month for years, maybe even a decade or more. Because that was your normal state of being as a child, survivors of this kind of trauma grow up stuck mentally and emotionally in overwhelm. But there’s nothing normal about chronic overwhelm. It’s toxic.
In order to heal from PTSD, you need to find your mental “place of safety.” You do this by learning healthy ways to manage overwhelm. Begin by doing what makes you feel safe and empowered again. For example, what are the positive activities in your life that make you feel safe? What uplifting books, magazines, blogs, or newsletters make you feel safe? What inspiring thoughts, affirmations, meditations, or prayers make you feel safe?
Create a list of these empowering things and add some of them to your daily self-care regime. Eventually, all of this positive input will come together in your mind to rewire your brain. That’s when you’ll find that mental place of safety where you know everything is okay.
When you’re comfortable in this safe place, expand your list. Try new things. Meet new people. Take some of those risks you’ve always wanted to take but found too overwhelming.
The time you spend in your mental safe place every day will give you the confidence to do this. You’ll discover you’re no longer overwhelmed by your feelings. You find you’re more likely to trust the wisdom of your heart and intuition.
Life is all about making the choices and taking the risks that help us grow in healthy, happy ways. But child abuse survivors can’t do this until we learn how to manage overwhelm. So make that list today and find your mental safe place. It’s the only way to enjoy this wonderful dance of life!
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