Trauma First-Aid: Finding peace until you find someone helpful.

You feel like you’ve just been shaken to the core and you bounce between calling a close friend, your pastor, or God for help. The wound is fresh, you may think talking will just make things worse. Here’s what you can do when you see yourself reacting instead of intentionally applying all you already believe and know. We are talking about small-t traumas and PTSD.

Before trauma therapy or Christian counseling in Denver, CO.

Seeking out God first for protection, provision, and healing is probably the most effective and timely way to avoid prolonged, unnecessary grief and pain. When you are overwhelmed with confusion and emotions, how far will you let that pain in or will you hand the person (people) and circumstances immediately over to God for resolution? Granted it may take a long time for the resolution to be complete, but you’re starting in a good place to benefit your own healing.

Staying in the present with God can look like harnessing the power of prayer and trust or finding comfort in spiritual communities. Saying “I trust You” or simply “help” can be such effective prayers to connect with HIm.

Seek out Christian community and connection for trauma healing.

If you find more peace in community, have at least one or two trusted friends you can call no matter what. Sometimes a small group in a church will be the source of such friends; more wisdom and support than you can imagine. Tonight I’m heading to a topical small group that implements the Pray as You Go app for daily connection to God through guided meditations and once-a-week reflection. Finding in-person groups with people committed to their own growth and yours may take a little exploring, you can check out a few to see if you resonate with someone or the group as a whole. 

You may want to talk about the trauma with several people. Likely you are wanting someone to say “you’ve been hurt or wronged,” but instead may end up hearing their stories. We are wounded in community and healed in community. Perhaps retelling the story too often before you hear other perspectives will just re-traumatize you. Be truthful with yourself and others. Talking to one trusted person who will be honest and helpful may be a better way to go.

Trauma therapy assessments in Denver, CO.

You may want to take a self-assessment to see whether you are experiencing PTSD and need professional help, ie https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/documents/BTQ.pdf. I would highly recommend doing in-person therapy rather than texting or phone calls as around 80% of communication is non-verbal.

Tapping for trauma therapy in Christian counseling.

What type of trauma symptoms are you experiencing? You may want to use EFT tapping for grief or simply the TFT overall trauma sequence, they are both using meridian points for healing. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7593862/ for more information on the mHealth app called The Tapping Solution app or EFT Tapping: What You Need to Know, an article in Forbes Health published April 28, 2023. You may also want to try mind-body work for trauma therapy that uses prayer, EFT, tapping and EMDR.

You may want to take a look at grounding techniques, especially if you’re a healthcare professional, first responder, or in the military. This will help with relationship trauma as well. Grounding is something you can do for yourself until you get the help you need. You can find some helpful suggestions here.

How to move forward in trauma therapy with Christian counseling in Denver, CO

In conclusion - tapping and grounding may be the first physical relief you seek when you’ve experienced a trauma and no one else is around. Don’t succumb to being so afraid or angry that you isolate. This is useless suffering. Instead, seek help and healing in ways that have worked before to move you toward wholeness, your best self, in every way. Connecting with someone else such as God, yourself and someone wise you trust (a ministry leader, Christian counselor or friend) can produce more long-lasting and immediate results.

Call 720-577-5985 or schedule a free 15-minute consult.