‘Being a slave to TRAUMA’
Do you suspect that there is trauma in your life?
Do you feel you just can’t get over certain events?
Chances are that you are a slave to Trauma!
But here is the good news and promise that Passover brings:
Whether the trauma happened years ago or yesterday, you can make healing changes and move on with your life.
This is the promise received!
(The promise of Pesach 2019)
What is Emotional and Psychological Trauma?
Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective circumstances that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized.
Emotional and psychological trauma can be caused by:
- One-time events, such as an accident, injury, or a violent attack, especially if it was unexpected or happened in childhood.
- Ongoing, relentless stress, such as living in a crime-ridden neighbourhood, battling a life-threatening illness or experiencing traumatic events that occur repeatedly, such as bullying, domestic violence, or childhood neglect.
- Commonly overlooked causes, such as surgery (especially in the first 3 years of life), the sudden death of someone close, the breakup of a significant relationship, or a humiliating or deeply disappointing experience, especially if someone was deliberately cruel.
Symptoms of psychological trauma
| Emotional & psychological symptoms: | Physical symptoms: |
| Shock, denial, or disbelief Confusion, difficulty concentrating Anger, irritability, mood swings. Anxiety and fear, Panic attacks, Guilt, shame, self-blame, Withdrawing from others. Feeling sad or hopeless Feeling disconnected or numb Flashbacks, nightmares, triggers. | Insomnia or nightmares, Fatigue, Being startled easily, Difficulty concentrating, Racing heartbeat, Edginess, and agitation, Aches and pains, Muscle tension. Any physical illness related to stress, fear, and trauma. |
If your psychological trauma symptoms don’t ease up—or if they become even worse—and you find that you’re unable to move on from the event for a prolonged period of time, you may be experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While emotional trauma is a normal response to a disturbing event, it becomes PTSD when your nervous system gets “stuck” and you remain in psychological shock, unable to make sense of what happened or process your emotions.
Trauma recovery tip 1: Get moving
Trauma disrupts your body’s natural equilibrium, freezing you in a state of hyper arousal and fear. As well as burning off adrenaline and releasing endorphins, exercise and movement can actually help repair your nervous system.
- Try to exercise for 30 minutes or more on most days. Or if it’s easier, three 10-minute spurts of exercise per day are just as good.
- Exercise that is rhythmic and engages both your arms and legs—such as walking, running, swimming, tennis, or dancing—works best.
- Add a mindfulness element. For this specific reason I created Stillmoving. Instead of focusing on your thoughts or distracting yourself while you exercise, really focus on your body and how it feels as you move. Notice the sensation of your feet hitting the ground, for example, or the rhythm of your breathing, or the feeling of wind on your skin. Notice the effect your thoughts and emotions have on your body and spirit.
Tip 2: Don’t isolate
- Following a trauma, you may want to withdraw from others, but isolation only makes things worse. Connecting to others face to face will help you heal, so make an effort to maintain your relationships and avoid spending too much time alone.
- Talk about the trauma. Share your feelings face to face with someone who will listen attentively without judging you.
- Ask for support.
- Participate in social activities, even if you don’t feel like it. Do “normal” activities with other people, activities that have nothing to do with the traumatic experience.
- Reconnect with yourself. Make the effort to reconnect.
- Join a support group for trauma survivors. Connecting with others who are facing the same problems can help reduce your sense of isolation, and hearing how others cope can help inspire you in your own recovery.
- Volunteer. As well as helping others, volunteering can be a great way to challenge the sense of helplessness that often accompanies trauma.
- Take up new hobbies.
Tip 3: Self-regulate your nervous system
- Mindful breathing
- Sensory input.(Petting an animal or listening to music works to quickly soothe you) Everyone responds to sensory input a little differently, so experiment with different quick stress relief techniques to find what works best for you.
- Staying grounded.
- Allow yourself to feel what you feel when you feel it. Acknowledge your feelings about the trauma as they arise and accept them.
Tip 4: Take care of your health
- It’s true: having a healthy body can increase your ability to cope with the stress of trauma.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Avoid alcohol, medication and negative people (movies/music).
- Eat a well-balanced diet. Avoid sugary and fried foods and eat plenty of omega-3 fats—such as walnuts, soybeans, bananas, and flaxseeds—to give your mood a boost.
- Reduce stress. Try relaxation techniques relaxation such as Stilltation, Stillmoving, or deep breathing exercises.
- Schedule time for activities that bring you joy such as your favourite hobbies.
Tip 5: Find the Spiritual cause of your trauma
Things the Scriptures Teach Us about Trauma and Suffering
In times of great suffering and pain, we often feel the farthest from our Creator.
Where are They?
Did They forget about me?
How could They let this happen?
Look at David (Psalm 13:1), Jeremiah (Lamentations 3:8) and Job (Job 9:16). Even Yahushua at the height of his pain cries out “My Elohiym, my Elohiym, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
From our limited human perspective, pain and suffering seem contrary to our idea of a sovereign YHVH Elohiym who is good and loving. We think that YHVH blinked and wasn’t able to stop this traumatic event or He aren’t really a loving Creator. We forget that Adam chose to sin and that we live in a fallen world, full of suffering. Suffering should not cause us to question Their sovereignty, as Job so clearly understood (Job 2:10). YHVH Elohiym is sovereign despite our circumstances. They created all things and controls all things (Deuteronomy 4:39; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Psalms 103:19; Daniel 4:35; Colossians 1:15-17). They allow us to experience the consequences of sin while remaining fully in control of all things including haSatan, who can only bring suffering into our lives if YHVH Elohiym allows it (Job 1:12; Luke 22:31). YHVH is in control of our circumstances, and They want to transform us into the very image of Their plan for us.
For this reason we need to take a closer look at the sin in our own life, even at the transgressions of our family blood line.
YHVH…visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6 -7/Deuteronomy 5:8 – 10
“Because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.” Leviticus 26:39
YHVH Elohiym (God) created the world through TEN specific utterances. The Egyptians (worldly system) DENIED this; considering the world to be “theirs” and corrupted creation; therefore Our Creator visited upon them TEN plagues (traumas), corresponding to the TEN utterances – this was done in reverse order, each plague “correcting” a corresponding corruption of an utterance.
YHVH Elohiym gave the Children of Israel (US) the TEN commandments to teach us how to sustain the world that They (Father and Spirit) created with TEN utterances and be delivered from the traumas in our life’s.
We can make use of this insight and understanding received to better understand why there are certain types of Traumas that plaque’s our own personal life.
And by doing this before Passover, we need to circumcise our hearts and those in our household, and clean them with the blood of the Lamb (Promise of Yahushua) so that the Traumas will pass us over instead of striking us!
