When someone is dealing with PTSD, they will not only avoid situations that trigger their symptoms but will try to suppress their emotions as well. In reality, the determination to avoid feelings and dealing with your trauma takes more effort and it also makes things worse in the long run.
You may not realize it, but avoiding is actually worsening your PTSD Symptoms. Here is why it is making things worse for you and three tips on how to beat the urge to avoid your issues.
You Can Only Stay Above Water For So Long
PTSD can be a really scary thing to deal with. It can be really tempting to think that if you avoid something it will just go away. Avoiding these feelings has a tendency to only worsen the issues over time. Suppressing feelings for a lengthy amount of time results in the difficulty of keeping those feelings at bay. It results in those feelings getting more and more overwhelming.
You can only stay above the water for so long. Deciding not to talk about what you’re dealing with can only bring on more damage later. While emotional avoidance seems like the best way to cope, those emotions may grow harder to ignore later. They may come back with a vengeance when you are less prepared to deal with them.
Avoidance Can Make Moving on Much Harder
Avoiding your feelings and trauma can make moving on with your life exceedingly harder. Avoiding your emotions takes a lot of energy that is not worth spending your time on. You could find yourself isolated, constantly on edge, and emotionally unavailable. Isolation and unavailability to work through trauma will make moving on from that trauma much harder.
Psychology says that emotions provide us with information about ourselves and the world around us. Emotions communicate and motivate our actions. When we are avoiding certain emotions, we’re telling our bodies to accept the particular situation. Instead, our minds should be motivating change to help heal from prior experiences.
Avoidance Can Result in Other Unhealthy Coping Methods
Avoidance is a coping method but it is not a healthy one. If someone is determined to use this coping method, it can result in further unhealthy ways in dealing with emotions and trauma. These could include substance abuse, alcohol use, or self-harm.
While you may not realize it, you could also be worsening your symptoms of anxiety or depression by not dealing with your trauma.
3 Tips You Can Use To Beat Avoidance.
Though scary, and extremely difficult to deal with, you can beat avoidance. The best way to start coping with your emotions is to identify them, accept that they’re happening, and find healthier ways to process them.
- Therapy is a great start and dealing with difficult emotions that aren’t going away. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a great way to not only address your situation and feelings but to help you focus on your current life and what can be done now. Therapists who practice CBT help you come up with more effective strategies for coping with life.
- Find yourself social and family support. If therapy is not a good route for you, find ways to talk to your friends and family about what you are dealing with. They have your best interest at heart, and can potentially be a good foundation for you to lean on as you heal.
- Embark on your wellness journey. Discover what you can and can’t control about your situation, and focus on what you can control. Push to make changes because you’re ready to heal. Find ways to adopt and maintain a positive mindset. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you should be practicing kindness that applies solely to you and your situation. Your self-care methods do not have to be profound in every single way. Find the little things that make you happy. Celebrate your wins, and keep pushing forward. Remember that one day, you’re going to come out on the other side of this, much stronger and very radiant.
Coping with PTSD is not easy. But you can do this. Stay positive, and be proud of who you are.
