Health and Wellness: Connection Between Mind and Body
4 Tips: Navigating Through Your Trauma
According to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, “Trauma is a universal experience that can happen to those with and without behavioral health conditions, is subjective and generally comes unexpectedly.”
Many people experience traumatic events during their life. Whether it is the death of a loved one, a difficult childhood, or an emotional incident, it can be difficult to deal with the trauma associated with these events. Having some tips to navigate through your trauma can help you continue to be the best version of yourself.
How The Mind and Body Work Together
Our mind and body are connected more than you think. The thoughts and emotions we have can not only have effects on our mental health, but our physical health as well.
According to an article by John Hopkins Medicine, “Mind-Body Connection is the belief that the causes, development and outcomes of a physical illness are determined from the interaction of psychological, social factors and biological factors.”
As someone who has dealt with some difficult times, I noticed how my mental well-being impacted how I physically felt. When I had periods of sadness and heartbreak I found myself more tired than usual- or even come down with a cold. When I was dealing with high levels of stress, I found my concentration levels and energy decreased.
Understanding that our bodies are strongly tied to our mind helps us create effective methods for dealing with our experiences. It’s important to be mindful of our thoughts, and these tips for success can be helpful in navigating our trauma
1.Listen to Your Feelings
Listening to your thoughts and paying attention to your feelings is a crucial step in the healing process. If you are avoiding yourself you can’t expect to deal with the trauma.
Getting acquainted with yourself and really understanding your feelings is important in learning how to deal with them. If you know what you’re feeling and what the root cause is, over time you will be able to recover.
It’s easy to want to isolate ourselves, take a break from our normal routine, and turn to unhealthy coping methods. While taking a break to heal is normal, you don’t want it to lengthen your recovery time.
Being honest with your feelings can help reduce possible impacts they may have on your physical well-being.
Slowly start to do the things that bring you joy, connect with others, and get back into your routine. Take the time you feel is necessary to sit with your feelings, but remember that you are not alone in navigating your trauma.
2.Focus on Self Care & Interests
While you don’t want to distract yourself from dealing with your trauma, it’s good to have coping mechanisms like focusing on your interests and self care.
Find a few things that peak your interest and do them when you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. Sometimes doing something that is of interest can help take you out of your head and not be so focused on the pain you may feel from the trauma.
It’s important to not neglect your self care during the healing process. Sometimes we forget to do simple parts of our routine because we’re too overwhelmed with our emotions; that is okay. Realizing where our tendencies lie and making an effort to correct them is the first step.
Here are some common self care tools:
Make your bed each morning
Meditation and deep breathing
Mindful eating
Taking a warm bath or shower
Drinking enough water
Navigating Your Trauma- The Den Collective
3.Connect With Others
Whenever you’re dealing with something, sometimes it can be helpful to talk to someone about it. Whether it’s family, friends, or even a therapist, having a reliable person to talk to is very helpful.
You may want to isolate yourself from the world to avoid talking to others, but withdrawing can often make things worse. Let your circle know how you’re doing, and make the effort to connect face to face.
You don’t always have to talk about your trauma when connecting; just engaging with others can be a form of comfort. Don’t be afraid to ask for support from people you know will support you.
Surrounding yourself with supportive people who you can talk to is a really helpful tool because we always need people to lean on in times of need.
Connection with others is a human need, and being able to find comfort in others can be a great way to reduce stress on your body.
4.Seek Out Resources
You don’t have to navigate your trauma recovery alone. There are many resources out there that can help you in your healing journey.
Talk to a therapist, research trauma symptoms to normalize your feelings, ask for support. It’s easy to feel embarrassed or alone when navigating trauma, but learning to ask for help when you need it is one of the best ways to heal.
It takes time to process your feelings and work through your trauma. Change doesn’t happen overnight, so don’t be discouraged if your journey is taking longer than you’d like. Everyone deals with their trauma differently.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness- it’s a sign of strength. Getting help from others or outside resources can be helpful in reducing stress and managing your trauma.
Not everyone needs treatment, but for some it can be helpful. Reaching out to your doctor or a therapist can be a great way to learn from a professional what resources are available to you and how you can best navigate your trauma.
Healing Over Time
Navigating through your trauma can be a daunting task, especially when you’re already overwhelmed by the trauma itself. Our minds have a huge impact on our bodies, and understanding how they work together is important in any recovery journey. Learning tools to cope with your trauma can help you in the healing process.
The Den Collective partners with Resource Olivia DeJesus to provide sessions on musician wellness, mindfulness, and working through trauma. More information on our resources can be found here.
Understanding tools to navigate our trauma and how our mind plays a huge role on our physical health are important when carving a career in music. Myself and The Den Collective are here to support and help in any way we can!
Sources:
https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/consulting-services/trauma-informed-resilience-oriented-care/
https://mywellbeing.com/therapy-101/2018/4/17/nine-ways-to-navigate-your-trauma
https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma/stress
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/coping-with-emotional-and-psychological-trauma.htm