Why It’s So Damn Hard To Heal From Trauma

Life is already difficult enough, even without experiencing trauma. It’s hard enough to survive, to be an adult, and to figure things out, even when we haven’t experienced anything too out of the ordinary. The way that society is set up is one in which we have to keep extremely busy and try very hard to survive as it is. Extraordinary traumatic events can really cause us to become an outsider to society and to the order in which we used to trust. When that system no longer works for you, you essentially become SOL.

When we experience trauma, not only does it affect us in terms of what happened during the traumatic situation, but it impacts every area of our lives. Depending upon the circumstances, it can affect your job, your career, your finances, and your personal relationships. It can cause all of these things to come out of balance as you integrate what happened to you into your psyche. Eventually, balance and stability can be regained, especially if you have a good support system in place. People will shift in and out of your life as a result. But what happens when the trauma is so big that even that becomes impacted?

This is what happened to me. I experienced a trauma so major that it impacted literally every area of my life. It caused me to have a severe mental breakdown. Nothing from my old life was compatible with the new life God had in store for me. It took many years to finally heal from that trauma, and the aftershocks are still in place almost seven years later.

When you experience a major trauma, you have to find ways to make society work for you rather than necessarily fitting in. You have to make your own way in the world. Everyone experiences hardships, but some are certainly more difficult than others. Some are self-imposed, whereas others happen to us without warning.

Healing from a major trauma takes a long time. It will always haunt the back of your mind until you do. It’s not something that our society has been designed to comprehend or cater to. It can cause your development in other areas to become arrested, since you had spent so much time and energy focused on healing and getting better. In certain areas, especially if it is something that happened when you were young, you will be behind your peers in terms of your growth and where you stand in the world.

It’s unfortunate that society is set up this way, which is very unnatural to the human condition. Shit happens, and when shit happens we begin to realize how unrealistic the society we live in is. It truly is a dog-eat-dog world, ruled by survival of the fittest. But even for someone like myself, who was doing relatively well in it before the trauma happened, the unexpected trauma I experienced uprooted everything.

It’s why so many people are unhappy, sick, taking antidepressants and other medications just to survive, working nonstop, and having to do things that do not make them particularly proud or happy. It can be a blood-thirsty, cold, and survival-based mindset many of us have been taught to come from, and when a trauma is experienced on top of that, the message society sends us is good luck trying to get back on track.

If you have experienced a major trauma in your life, I would recommend seeking counseling or guidance and finding someone who can help you slowly pick up the pieces and get your life back on track.