Trauma Healing Is Not Linear: What to Expect on Your Recovery Journey
For people with experiences of trauma, healing becomes a priority as trauma can impact our daily lives. While working through trauma it is important to know that healing isn’t linear.
What is trauma?
Trauma is an event (or multiple events) that affect the way your brain and body respond to the world around you. This can be caused from various experiences:
A significant event
A prolonged series of events
Watching harm happen
Common Trauma-Related Symptoms:
Feeling more on edge than typical
Having flashbacks to an event
Having a hard time connecting with others
Negative alterations in thoughts
Disrupted sleep or nightmares
If you think an event caused you trauma it is good to talk to a professional about what that experience was like for you and see how therapy can help.
What does “healing isn’t linear” mean?
When going on a healing journey, some may expect to see results come continuously. It is kind of like practicing a new sport, you start with new experience, maybe learn to dribble the ball in week one, pass to another player in week two, block opposing players in week 3, then learn how to shoot in week 4, then by the end of the month you’re ready to try out your first friendly game. With that scenario we see a progression over time where you get better until you are able to accomplish a skill.
The path to healing may not necessarily be progressive and linear like this. One day you may be trying all your new coping skills learned through therapy, and the next it feels like you can’t get out of bed. Trauma is complicated and thus our ability to heal can be complex. Some people may even have a positive trajectory of growth for an extended period of time, and one day that can change. It can feel really frustrating at times to know that even if we try to make progress, it does not need to look “perfect.”
It is important to remember that hitting a rough patch in your healing journey does not mean that you have lost all of the progress you have made.
How long will it take?
There is no way to predict how long healing will take, this looks different for everyone. We all go through different processes to heal. If the pace of your healing work is troubling you, it could be helpful to talk to a therapist about what could change or further explore your emotions about the perceived slowness.
Am I doing it wrong?
The good news is there is no “right” or “wrong” way to heal. Because healing is such a personal experience, it looks different from person to person. It may be helpful to think about healing from trauma more like a winding river. Rivers do not always take the most direct route from point A to point B, but they do move persistently downstream, sometimes pivoting direction when a barrier presents itself.
Reach out to our team today if you’re recovering from trauma and seeking additional support as you navigate your experience.
Ellie Staples
Ellie is an undergraduate intern for Flourish Counseling & Wellness. She is currently a fourth-year student at Colorado State University, majoring in psychology with a concentration in clinical counseling.
Ellie hopes to continue her education in graduate school this fall with a goal of becoming a licensed therapist working with children and adolescents.
Remington is a 2.5 year old medical alert service dog. He has been doing service work for the last year and a half, and he hopes to one day to add therapy dog to his list of skills.
