When’s the Right Time to Process Trauma?
Trauma gets stored in the body. Until we process it, we might engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms and struggle with our mental health. Confronting your past probably feels scary, but it’s necessary to start on the path of healing from your trauma.
What is Trauma?
Not every bad thing that happens to you is necessarily traumatic. On the other hand, something that might have seemed inconsequential at the time could have long-lasting effects. What matters most is your bodily response to the experience.
Some events known to be traumatic are:
- Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
- Witnessing physical violence
- War, genocide, and starvation
- Prolonged illness
- Death of a loved one
- Racial discrimination
- Natural disasters
When is the Right Time to Start Processing?
It’s impossible to process trauma as it’s happening to you. You’re in survival mode. During a traumatic event, you’ll enter one of four modes of survival: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. In the weeks and months after, if you’re in a safe and supportive environment, you can start to reflect on what happened to you. In the aftermath of a traumatic event, you might not even realize its impact on your life. Many people seek therapy to process their trauma when their lives have become unmanageable in some way. Unresolved trauma can lead to mental and mood disorders and triggered anxiety attacks can increase in severity over time. Pay attention to new emotions and behaviors you may have developed after your trauma—you may be feeling its effects in subtle ways.
How Long Will it Take?
Processing your trauma doesn’t have a set timeline. But it doesn’t have to take years. Depending on your chosen therapeutic approach, you could see positive effects in as little as several weeks. But this assessment is up to you and your therapist. While you may initially decide on 12 therapy sessions over a few months, you might choose to keep attending talk therapy to keep up on the techniques you learned. What matters is that you work towards emotional and psychological freedom.
Which Therapies Can Help?
1. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
A trauma-focused therapist will help you learn to challenge intrusive thoughts and fears so that your trauma won’t dictate your life. CBT is one of the most widely used psychotherapeutic approaches. It’s useful for changing your preconceived notions about the world, grounding yourself through distressing moments with mindfulness techniques, and regaining control over your emotions.
2. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
CPT fits under the umbrella of CBT approaches but is meant to target symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder specifically. Generally taking place over 12 sessions, you’ll learn to modify your black-and-white thinking related to your trauma. A therapist will walk you through a reconceptualization of your traumatic event and its effects on your life.
3. Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
Throughout your EMDR sessions, you’ll work up to revisualizing your traumatic experience. As you talk, your therapist will guide your sensory focus (your gaze, for example) bilaterally—they’ll have you look from one side to another. Studies show this kind of bilateral movement helps the brain process trauma.
4. Group Therapy
Group therapies can be a great option if you’re seeking support from other people in your situation. Though it’s less targeted than psychotherapy, you can connect with others who have been through similar traumatic experiences. This kind of group healing can be especially cathartic for those who have gone through abuse or are grieving a traumatic loss.
Start Your Processing Journey
If your unprocessed trauma has had wide-ranging effects on your life, start thinking about which therapy might be right for you. Processing your trauma on your own time means taking back your life and learning the skills to adapt no matter the circumstances.
To learn more about how therapy can start you on the path toward processing your trauma, please reach out to us.
