I’m concerned. Some “experts” are spreading an erroneous message that can have disastrous results. They’re telling us we can’t process our trauma symptoms at depth while we’re still in the crisis causing the trauma. That’s not always true, not at all.
It can be true during a short crisis—running out of a burning building doesn’t leave much time for introspection—but is less the case during long-term upheaval.
We all have our own ways of getting by, ways that suit us best, or that are the best we can do for the time being. If you personally can’t—or choose not to—deal with your trauma symptoms until after a long term crisis has passed, I support you. Perhaps, you need to just hang in and focus on surviving.
And perhaps no one can deal fully with their trauma symptoms until after longterm extremities are past.
However, sometimes the only way to find the strength to overcome a crisis is to face and heal your trauma symptoms.
I am wary of voices telling us to ignore our emotional and spiritual healing. The agendas and motives of people who are spreading the narrative that we’re powerless and unable to substantially heal our spiritual and emotional injuries are suspect. E.g., are these “experts” projecting their own sense of powerlessness, or invested in playing savior so discourage others from recognizing their own power?
In traditional shamanism, disaster was seen as an irreplaceable opportunity. A shaman guided a traumatized individual through an inward journey of facing trauma symptoms. Through this, the person would gain spiritual fortitude, otherworldly power, and enormous ability to thrive on the mundane realm, to extents that few other situations can foster.
I should probably add: a clinical psychologist concurs that you can heal from trauma when you’re still in crisis.
Be gentle with yourself. Do what you need to do. Don’t let anyone tell you what that is.
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