Thankyou so much once again, always a pleasure to be here. I really love the AMAA's and the thoughtful questions that come through. It also allows me to think deeply about certain topics we cover!

Hope to help answer more questions in the future!! - If you need to reach me you can find me on Instagram at - @flow.state.space 

With love, stay well

Rashida ❤️

My favourite insight about trauma healing is that it can be done. 

Although I don't subscribe to the idea that we need to ever be fully 'healed' to life a full, happy life - Seeing people grow and thrive post trauma is truly magic.

I'm in a privileged position in that I get to witness peoples healing on a daily basis and it is the most sacred experience that I never take for granted. ❤️

Love this! Thank you for including the idea that we don't need to be fully healed to live happy lives.

Definitely not 🙂

Collective trauma exists and can often fall into the complex trauma category. Often collective trauma is experienced by people in a collective group facing traumatic events such as natural disasters, war, racism, genocide, terrorist attacks and violent crime. 

Covid being an experience of collective trauma was circulated as a concept when therapists started noticing clients facing symptoms that were mimicking that of trauma experienced by individual people after isolated traumatic events. 

It makes sense in some ways that Covid could have been a collective trauma experience due to the factors of there being many unknowns, chronic illness, death, isolation and grief. 

It caused us to experience so many new, uncontrollable things whilst being separated from each other and a level of constant uncertainty. This wasn't everyones experience however, it was debilitating for enough people that it could be classified as a collective trauma experience.

What we also noticed was that people who had been victims of trauma were more likely to experience Covid as a traumatic experience. The loss of control and autonomy was re-triggering and re-traumatising for those already subject to trauma in the past. 

In terms of what to do; I would spend some time re-focusing on the things that are within your control and like the previous comment suggested - engage in more 'bottom up' strategies. 

I would also acknowledge that your experience of Covid may not match others but that doesn't make it any less valid. 

I would reflect on if there maybe other layers to your general life experience that may be causing Covid to be experienced as traumatic for you.

I wish you wellbeing and peace. ❤️ Thankyou for your question

That's so interesting @GuestPsychologistRD thank you for unpacking that! As a society we've been through a whole lot of the past few years, so I'm glad this question came up. 

There's luckily many forms of trauma therapy out there.

What is also important is ensuring your therapist is 'trauma-informed' meaning they have worked with trauma presentations and know how to safely navigate trauma with their clients. Trauma therapy is done slowly and gently over time - You won't be unpacking the trauma in the first session and may take a very long time to even touch on the trauma to ensure safety and that you are able to cope using strategies provided to ensure there is no risk of re-traumatisation. 

Ensuring you feel safe with the therapist you are working with is priority as well when working on trauma. Sometimes this is the most important factor. 

Some models of therapy are:

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is helpful and also has many branches of other models of therapy off it that are trauma informed.

CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy)

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the 'gold standard' forms of therapy for trauma.

ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Narrative Therapy 

DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy)

Trauma-informed therapists, support services and spaces, in general, are so important! 

Thankyou for your vulnerability in sharing this question ❤️

Your family don't need to be open to talking about it in order for it to be true. 

If you feel you have experienced childhood trauma, you can find other people who will support you by allowing you safety and a space to share and explore or process this. It might be helpful to speak with someone who is trauma-informed to help you unpack what has happened and work on a way forward. 

As we said earlier in the thread, you are able to recover from trauma and there are resources available to provide validating care. 

I wish you the best on your journey 💪

Love this 👇

"Your family don't need to be open to talking about it in order for it to be true."

Yes it definitely can. 

Forgetting large portions of your life especially around the time of the trauma is very common and is a part of our survival instincts. Our brain and body is in constant communication and can detect when we are in threatening or unsafe environments and situations and often does many things to attempt to protect us - one of these things can be forgetting large portions of time and your life, this may have been the only way to survive through something. 

Trauma causing forgetfulness in your daily life is also common - Trauma re-wires certain parts of the brain and can cause symptoms that last long after the trauma is 'over' - as we mentioned, complex trauma or C-PTSD can have symptoms which continue years after the trauma. 

Interestingly there is also an overlap in symptoms of trauma and neurodivergent diagnoses such as ADHD! - Often if you are going to get assessed for ADHD, the therapist/ Psychiatrist might asses for childhood or other trauma to rule this out as causing some of the symptoms. (Maybe a topic for another AMAA!!)

Totally agree - an ask me almost anything about ADHD is a great idea! 

Great practical question!

I would start by doing some 'bottom up' based strategies.

Bottom up strategies are things that are more somatic or physical in nature - so practicing small things that make you feel safe in your body again.

Trauma has a tendency to 'dysregulate' your nervous system, meaning that your nervous system becomes a little hijacked and it is stuck in a fight, flight or freeze response. By doing strategies that are 'bottom up' you are moving the nervous system into more of the rest and digest part more often, allowing it to be grounded and your overall body to feel safe. This will be a bit of a journey and won't feel like it is doing much overnight, but some of the daily strategies include breathwork, cold water exposure (cold shower, cold water on face or hands) grounding and anchoring, coming back to your senses and focusing in on one sense - sight, sound, touch, smell, hearing. Things like yoga and gentle movement, humming and singing, tapping.

I'm so happy you've mentioned "bottom-up" strategies! 

It's incredible what our bodies can do when we ground ourselves in the present moment. I love all those suggestions @GuestPsychologistRD 

I would also surround yourself with people and connect into relationships that make you feel safe, loved, not judged and comfortable. We are relational beings and we need others and to be in healthy relationships to support us into a space of healing and recovery.