How To Break the Cycle of Trauma That’s Ruining Your Life
All the worst things is life — stress, bad habits, and self-hatred — are all rooted in trauma.
When I’m stuck in the Cycle of Trauma, being in my head is torture.
There’s this voice that runs on repeat — it’s my Inner Critic. It tells me all the things that I should do. Things that I need to achieve. Milestones I need to hit. Habits I need to build or get rid of. But, at the same time, it drains the very energy I need in order to do those things.
So, I cope. I try to shut it off. Then, I feel guilty about how I’m trying to shut it off. The cycle repeats and gets amplified until the voice tells me that I (and everyone else, for that matter) would be better off if I was dead.
I call this pattern of thinking The Cycle of Trauma.
Sound familiar?
The Steps in the Cycle of Trauma
Step 1: Stress — I feel anxious, depressed, bleh.
Step 2: Coping — I do things to feel better but gravitate to things that aren’t so…healthy.
Step 3: Self-Attack — I blame myself for the stress and how I cope with it, causing more stress and…well, you can see where this is going.
