3 Phases of Trauma Recovery

No, this is not the end, and life will not always be like this.

Yes, this is a long phase and when it ends, it will all make sense. 

If you’ve experienced trauma in any part of your life, you may be familiar with depression, guilt, anxiety, shame, or loss of control that comes with it. In fact, you may realize that these emotions dictate your daily life.

Although at times it may feel like these emotions will be part of you forever, there is a better way out. With therapy, reconstruction of coping skills, and other holistic methods like hypnotherapy, you can process the trauma and its effects. Here is how that journey may look like:

Source: Sarah Lee Photography

Phase I: Withdrawal and Stabilization

As a result of the trauma, there may be feelings of unsafety and withdrawal. We may observe withdrawal from relationships and jobs or problems with trust and safety. These are all-natural consequences of trauma and it’s important to bring back the stable inner resources.

Whether you decide on trying traditional therapy or another method, the first goal will be creating awareness while re-establishing feelings of safety.

Awareness of triggering situations, people, events, or places will be the start for discovering hidden emotions, fears, and stressors. With the support of the facilitator, you can learn to manage the emotions and regulate them as needed, as part of your recovery journey.

Oftentimes, trauma can express itself within the body as well. As you become more and more aware, you may realize that some parts of the body are tighter than the other parts or you may realize that you’ve been tensing certain muscles unconsciously. With the help of holistic methods such as yoga, hypnosis, breathwork, meditation or mindfulness; you can learn to relax the body, calm the mind and re-connect with your coping skills.

Phase II: Processing and Mourning 

The following phase after the initial discovery of shock may be more emotionally challenging. This phase involves acceptance of the event, grieving, and making sense of the event; which may be hard to handle for many people. In other words, this becomes a process of recognizing the emotional challenges, understanding them, and integrating them in a constructive way.  

Of course, the best way to go through this phase is with the help of a mental health practitioner. At times, there may be feelings of panic, unexpected triggers, and emotional sensitivity during the recovery from trauma.

Grieving can also be a part of this process. As the shock and bargaining leaves, depression and sadness may replace. Especially during this phase, don’t forget to give yourself time and unconditional compassion. After all, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to trauma recovery. 

Phase III: Integration

Although one can expect phase III to be the end, it could actually be the beginning of a totally new chapter. This phase is all about rediscovering yourself, reconnecting with others, and allowing the trauma to become part of your history.  

During trauma, you may lose touch with yourself and almost feel like you are a different person at the end. You may have also felt that you are the trauma. In other words, the trauma may have been defining you and your life.

In this stage, there is more understanding of the events and moving forward in life regardless of the events. Although this stage is still not easy, it can be very empowering and encouraging for some people.

As you integrate the trauma, you may find that you are not triggered or you don’t drop into total panic by the event anymore. You may also find that trauma is something that happened at some point in your life but it doesn’t define you and your life as a whole.

This new perspective also opens the door for further self-improvement and discovery.

Final words

Although these three phases can be a great pamphlet to move forward after the trauma, these stages won’t necessarily apply to everyone. Remember, we are all unique in a variety of ways. Therefore, processing trauma will vary from person to person. Additionally, even with these stages, you may realize that you move back and forth between the stages. These are all-natural integration processes of trauma. Remember to give yourself time, understanding, and full acceptance!