Your Trauma Narrative
You know how some people endure incomprehensible adversity and rise up to become amazing world leaders/visionaries
.... while others shrink away from the outside and whither into resentful victims of life?
Don't live the tragic character arch of guy #2.
What if you could rethink your worst experiences with new context, reframe the story of your life, and move on?
I know, most people don't want to bring up shit-feelings or get overwhelmed with writing traum-autobiographies
- it can be dangerous and flooding, and you shouldn't play with matches if there's not a licensed therapist around.
Luckily, if you're at an appropriate stage of recovery, there's a safer way to revisit your traumatic history.
It's called Trauma Narration, and it's a powerful tool for integrating and processing difficult life events in your thinker box.
The research shows (read here) that Trauma Narration is a critical path to integrating memories, reframing your experiences, and empowering yourself to rise above your circumstances instead of perpetually fearing imminent doom.
Sounds better, right?
If you haven't done it before - here's the deal!
Trauma Narration, like all trauma mindset recovery, is an a la carte exercise.
You should practice it however it would benefit you most, and avoid it if you aren't ready yet.
That means, if writing about your shit isn't helping - go ahead and draw it out. Make a timeline or a line graph. Whatev.
Focus on whatever scope would be best for you at this moment. Work out whatever is gnawing at your stomach.
However, there are two easy approaches that help me greatly: Taking the birds eye view or getting granular.
Birdseye View
If you're newly-examining a traumatic life or looking for greater meaning to it all, I recommend keeping things at a distance and developing your basic plot line. (Don't get overwhelmed trying to integrate every traumatic turn - just get the dramatic arch down.) It helps to reignite your sense of self and to give your current life context... as well as sparking inner insolence and motivation for creating brighter futures.
Getting Granular
If you're farther along in your trauma journey, or more interested in examining a particular acute traumatic event, it can be useful to get into the details and reframe one trend/event.
Follow the basic ideas above and physically write it somewhere!
Tips: Examine how Trauma impacted the narrative of your life, good and bad. Focus on long term outcomes and lessons.
Distance yourself from the drama for greater clarity. Pretend it's a movie; imagine where this plot line would lead in the future... then take steps to make it happen. When you fall on hard times, remember your narrative and find power.
Fill out the prompts below for an easy surface exercise. Independently journal or doodle to dig deeper into your own life.
If you want to share, submit the form or send me an email. Tell me about yourself, send pics, let me know if it helped.
reach out anytime at traumatizedmotherfxckers@gmail.com
