There Is More To Trauma Than Just Painful Memories

Towards the end of 2012, I came to the conclusion that if I could change what was going on in my mind my life would change. The outcome of this was that I ended up having hypnotherapy.

I was in a lot of emotional pain at this time and I had no idea what inner peace was like. A little while after this I came to see that I was carrying a lot of trauma, with what took place during my early years being one of the reasons for this.

A Simple Process

The hypnotherapist that I worked with believed that I could more forward by changing what was going on in my head. A big part of this was then about changing the painful memories that I experienced.

Once these were changed, then, I would be able to live a life that was worth living. After I had had a number of sessions I felt better, but it wasn’t long before the old pain reappeared.

It Was Time to Rethink

This person had told me that “we were nothing more than a conversion in our head”, and if this was so, simply changing what was going on up top should have transformed me. There was a point where I embraced this view but it soon become clear to me that this wasn’t the case.

A few months after this, I came to see that I needed to find a way to deal with my emotions. The view that my thoughts and memories were solely defining how I felt didn’t add up any more.

Cut-Off

When I was having hypnotherapy I didn’t have a strong connection with my body, so it was to be expected that I would believe that it was all about what was going on up top. By processing my emotions, it gradually became clear that this was a half-truth.

In fact, what I came to see was that what was going on up top was largely a reflection of what was taking place in my body. And as the years went by, I came to see that there was another element involved.

A Build-Up

Not only was there what was taking place in my mind and what was going on in my emotional body, there was also the energy that was stored in my physical body. The energy had been stored in my body had also caused my body to tighten up.

When I had experienced trauma, my body and mind were overwhelmed, which was why this energy wasn’t processed and end up staying trapped in my body. This energy needed to be discharged, and my brain needed to change too.

Final Thoughts

The view that healing from trauma is just about changing painful memories can be seen as another consequence of trauma. Trauma disconnects someone from themselves, setting them up to believe that it is ‘all about the mind’.

If someone focuses purely on their mind, it can stop them from being able to move forward. But, by paying attention to their whole being and reaching out for the assistance that they need, they can heal themselves.
The assistance of a therapist or a healer may be needed here.