HEALING

heal-the-world-husky-photography

Need some healing on the go? Use the box in the top right corner of this page to sign up for our free ‘Healing Thought of the Day’.

The bottomline is this: After a trauma occurs, survivors get lost in the gap between Before and After, Now and Then, Today and Yesterday, who they were pre-trauma and who they become as a result of experience. Nothing and no one is safe, stable, familiar, recognizable, known or dependable. Suddenly, the entire world has changed and how survivors perceived and knew themselves and their identities has shattered.

The core of healing is building back a strong sense of self and an identity that makes sense, feels secure, and is chosen by the survivor himself. We don’t choose what traumas occur in our lives, but we do choose:

  • how we react to them
  • how we heal the aftereffects
  • whether or not we give in to the trauma or overcome it
  • who we will be afterward: survivor or thriver?

identity-crisis-wardomaticConstructing Post-Trauma Identity. The crux of healing lies in taking back the power that trauma stripped from us. Trauma turns us into survivors, victims and a slew of other self-thought ideas that deny us our true strength and personality. In order to truly heal we must get all of that back by making deliberate choices.

The foundation for rebuilding life after trauma lies in rebuilding the self. Where there is fear, uncertainty, disgust or disappointment in whom we are there will always be a touch of trauma. This is unacceptable! In order to become PTSD-free a new self will have to be born. When we feel empowered, solid, focused, happy with, genuine in, joyful about and proud of our identity we are in control; the subconscious mind - which exists in a high state of alert after trauma - learns to relax and leave the decision-making to us.

A major benefit of constructing a post-trauma identity lies in the process itself. As it teaches a survivor to reengage in the present moment and reconnect with his essential self, the process helps survivors develop skills, strengths, vision, commitment, self-appreciation, purpose and a sense of consciously contributing to his life, well-being and safety. In the end, these qualities coalese in an identity that is equipped to move out of the past and into the future.

BRIDGE THE GAP Healing Workshop. Trauma strips survivors of their personal power; the crux of healing is getting it back. The BRIDGE THE GAP Healing Workshop is a free, ongoing workshop designed to put the survivor back in the driver’s seat of healing.

brooklyn-bridgeIn a year long program the workshop guides survivors through the construction of a post-trauma identity, which forms the basis for healing. Formatted in monthly modules with three weekly posts plus exercises, this healing workshop covers everything about self-empowered healing from the original healing intention, through the power of education, connection and the deliberate construction of a post-trauma self.

Survivors Speak. The myth that PTSD cannot be cured is prevalent everywhere. But the truth is, survivors all around the world are working hard to heal and they are succeeding! While our traumas are individual, the PTSD experience remains universal. And while our healing journeys are personal, the successes and failures of healing are, in every way, communal. Survivors with different types of trauma experience, relate to and tell the same stories about living and coping with - and healing - PTSD. At every stage of healing it helps to know you are not alone and to hear how other survivors are negotiating the labyrinth of relief.

Faces of Joy. Even in the midst of our pain, sorrow and PTSD strife that original, unwarped, essential self still exists. Sometimes, we’re lucky enough to capture it on film. These photos can become beacons of light in the darkness of PTSD healing.

(Photos: Husky Photography, wardomatic)