Trauma comes from experiencing something that is too hard, too much, for too long, with too little support. Perhaps it is something unexpected that came on too fast, with no time to digest it or metabolize it. Often it can feel like being flooded with more than we can take in.
Maybe you’ve been there before, or maybe the pandemic — and the systemic culture of racism and political divide — has surfaced it in ways that you don’t know what to do with it all.
How does a person find room for space or for self care when quarantined with little ones or supporting online school juggled with the responsibilities of a job? How do you stand the monotony when you don’t know how long this storm will last?
Maybe we are afraid to slow down, or our fears and anxiety and angst are so boiling over that we don’t know how to. The pressures or daily grind keep pounding, not finding relief, not able to sleep.
The problem is, we’re not listening.
Our body has been trying to speak to us, to help us, to heal us. Slow down. Breathe. Sit in this space. Give voice to the tension and strain and distress. Stretch. Notice. Listen.
If we would be attentive and responsive to our needs, I imagine our experience would be vastly different.
This just may be the pathway through….
For your reflection: Can you relate to something being too much or too hard for too long? Name it. If it happened in the past, what brought you through it? If it is happening now, how can you slow down to listen?
Action steps: What one thing can you do to take something off your list and reduce your stress? What one thing can you add that will give you more support? Do it. Start small.
