How To Cope With Trauma-Induced Depression?
Divorce.
The sudden death of someone who was close to you.
Watching a person whom you love decline mentally and physically.
Encountering a terrorist attack or mass shooting.
These events are quite impactful and, therefore, can be quite difficult to witness or experience. And depending on how our mental health was back then, it can also take a massive toll on it.
However, in some cases, it might also go far beyond that and lead to something even more serious – like depression. And if left untreated, that can literally be life-threatening.
Fortunately, though, you can cope with this entire issue properly. But, we will not start talking about it right away. Instead, let’s first understand how you can understand if your depression is caused due to trauma or not.
Signs Of Trauma-Induced Depression
L life as well –
- Crying your heart out frequently
- Feeling a sense of emotional numbness
- Extreme sadness, sometimes for no reason at all
- Experiencing a feeling of disillusionment
- Having difficulty sleeping or lack of appetite
- Recurring flashbacks or memories of the event that gave you the trauma
- Having nightmares about the traumatic incident, etc.
A sense of social withdrawal can also be a symptom of trauma-induced depression. However, it can be quite common in some introverted people too. So, understanding it can be difficult.
Once you experience a traumatic event, experiencing the aforementioned stuff is pretty natural. However, if these persist for more than a week or two, we would ask you to go for professional help. This could be potentially life-saving.
Coping With Traumatic Experiences
If you’ve experienced something as traumatic as the things we mentioned in the introduction, the first thing that you need to do is talk to someone. It might be one of your family members or a friend that you’re close to. Once you’ve done that, you’ll also need to do the following –
- Do something that you like. If you love to play games, try to do that as much as you’re capable of doing. Or, you can also try and draw something to express yourself.
- Take care of yourself. Maybe try a new makeup out, manicure your nails, or style your hair in some way you’ve never done before. Make yourself look refreshing.
- Engage in a stress-reducing activity or two. For example, doing yoga regularly can aid in relaxing your senses and freshen up your mind.
If you’re in a traumatized situation, you will experience negative thoughts and everything else related to that. So, it will be important for you to recognize these and try to replace them with a lot of positive thoughts. Talking to people and going to social gatherings may also help you.
The Final Say!
Coping with trauma and depression, in essence, is a journey – and a very difficult one at that. So, in the beginning, it might feel extremely difficult to deal with everything that’s going on.
However, as you grow through everything slowly, it will become easier to cope with whatever situation you’re dealing with. But you have to be patient with yourself.
And reach out to people and take their help. Trust us; there are a lot of people out there who’d love to listen to you and offer their assistance.
Or if possible, you might also call a helpline and talk to them. Yes, it will seem too far-fetched from your viewpoint, but in the end, you will get the attention you desperately need.
Finally, you can also get help from trauma therapist in Singapore and talk your heart out with them. It will be more helpful, as they can provide you with professional guidance.
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