One of the universal truths we live with is that death is inevitable. It’s a truth we try to avoid, ignore, delay or forget, however, when we have to confront it first-hand, there is no escape.
This episode looks not at our broader experiences of loved ones passing away, but specifically at the trauma we experience when a loved one is lost suddenly through circumstances beyond our control.
Here are two reasons why you should listen to the full episode.
- Discover the role shock plays in the trauma navigation process.
- Develop an understanding of how our minds process trauma.
Resources
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Episode Highlights
What Is The Body’s Initial Response to Trauma?
- A rush of adrenaline prompts the memory of the event to be imprinted on the amygdala. Going forward, whenever we remember the event, our brains will produce a physiological response as we are now branded with the emotional interpretation of the event.
- This is why trauma can be so difficult to deal with – the emotional response connected to the event is strong.
Why Do We Dissociate From the Event?
- In a way, our body’s memory processing system malfunctions.
- The traumatic memory is stored in a way in which we remember the emotional event as pictures or bodily sensations. The memories become split into fragments.
- The fragments are embedded into the mind, creating a difficulty with the natural recovery process.
What Can We Do To Help Process It?
- Acknowledge what has happened. Bring the reality to the front of your mind. You can do this in your bedroom alone or to a friend. When we don’t talk about it, it is easier for us to dissociate from it.
- Allow all of the feelings. Scream, stay silent, do whatever is necessary for you and your brain to move forward. Don’t question the feelings. Just allow them to exist.
- Find someone you trust to talk to. You need to be able to speak about what has happened. Speak about your process, your experience, and your reality now.
- Write it out. When there isn’t a trusted friend around, write what has happened. Acknowledge the trauma and what you are experiencing. The more you do this, the more you can begin to process the event.
- By declaring the event we do not separate it from the emotion, but we additionally place it in the realm of logic and reality. It becomes a concrete, factual event that has taken its place in our normal day to day.
5 Powerful Quotes
- “The trauma we are focused on is the state of shock we experience when we have that knock at the door or that phone call, that shifts the reality that existed only moments before. The trauma that freezes our world, where all of a sudden we feel like we are moving through molasses.”
- “The normal world continues to move in its usual rhythm, but our own is moving in a warped slow motion pace of its own.”
- “The cracks the shock has created will always remain.”
- “When the traumatic event remains unsaid, it’s easier for us to dissociate from it. We need to make it real.”
- “By declaring the event we do not separate it from the emotion, but we additionally place it in the realm of logic and reality. It becomes a concrete, factual event that has taken its place in our normal day to day.”
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Hosted By: Gregg Clunis | https://www.instagram.com/greggclunis/
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