What's a normal trauma response?

[LouiseV]

Hi, 

I went through trauma for over 10 years that was damaging. I am working through it all with a therapist and wanted to know how people feel between trauma therapy appointments and what's normal.

I often get flashbacks, feel withdrawn, want to isolate and go quiet. I normally love to talk but lately I don't have much to say. Is this normal? Some days I can feel really low, especially after a therapy appointment. And I try my best to get through them also. This is all new to me so looking to for some reassurance from others who have been there or are there.

Thanjs

[sbella02]

LouiseV,

Thank you for finding the courage to post here, we warmly welcome you to the forums. I'm so sorry to hear about the trauma that you've experienced, and how it still affects you today. What an awful feeling. I'm glad to hear that you've been attending therapy, that's a great first step.

What you have described is normal, yes. The kinds of trauma responses we can experience depend on a lot of factors. Your personality, life experiences, family history, who you surround yourself with now, etc. Many, many different ways that people react to trauma, and it also depends on what type of trauma it is. 

For instance, with a difficult situation that happened with a former friend of mine, I would frequently have recurring thoughts of "what if I'd done this differently?" or self-blame, sometimes I'll cry, I had periods of either socialising all the time or not wanting to leave the house at all. Highly variable, and dependent on a lot of factors in my life at the time.

I hope this can answer your question, is there anything else on your mind? We're here to support you 🙂

SB

[LouiseV]

Thanks so much. I never expected it to be as hard as it has been. It can feel very consuming sometimes.