It is important to make mental health a priority, particularly in the post-trauma state. If you have lived through significant trauma, this needs to be fully acknowledged and accepted in order to move forward in your healing journey. Accepting the past for exactly what it was will allow you to move more freely into a healthier phase of life.
This can very difficult to do, of course. Oftentimes, the mind wants to shut out painful memories as a natural defense mechanism. But this only allows room for resentment, fear, shame, guilt, and a whole host of other negative emotions to fester. And eventually the pain will surface in irritability, anger, depression, anxiety and other unhealthy emotions and feelings. So, no matter how hard you try to suppress what has happened, it is impossible to do so forever. It will have substantially detrimental consequences to your overall well-being.
Part of making mental health a priority is to release the stigma that surrounds it. You may be lived for some time in a home in which mental health was never discussed, or it was “only for crazy people.” Therapy may not have been an acceptable outlet to manage difficult symptoms.
In the post-trauma state, it is important, however, to make time for self-reflection – to check in and better understand the current state of your entire being (physically, mentally, and emotionally). No one escapes from trauma entirely unscathed. You must acknowledge this and determine exactly how it has affected you so you can better understand how to heal.
If mental health is not made a priority or continues to be seen as taboo, there is also the possibility that one will try to manage the pain by engaging in risky and self-destructive behaviors. There is a much higher likelihood of developing addictions in an environment in which symptoms of trauma are not dealt with in a healthier way. This is because if proper help isn’t sought out, pain continues to linger.
Opting for another way out will only worsen symptoms in the long run. It’s simply not sustainable and turning to substance abuse and other addictions will eventually make life all that more unbearable. Anxiety and/or depression worsens simply because of hiding behaviors and the risk of being found out and subjected to more abuse. There is also an ongoing risk of running out of money if a person is also financially abused and given limited resources. And, the crux of the problem still isn’t being addressed.
Until the actual source of an individual’s pain is acknowledged, accepted, and remedied, it is impossible to be completely relieved of these symptoms. One must give up an addiction and make a commitment to self to leave the toxic situation in order to heal.
When mental health is made a priority and treatment is sought, inevitably life changes for the better. There are so many useful tools that can propel you into a state that is sustainable because they restore your vitality for life. When you make time for self-care, the rewards are endless.
Choose mental health for sustainable healing. You’re worth it.