4 Ways Healing From Trauma Can Enrich Your Life

Years ago, my wife and I were mugged at gunpoint in Washington, D.C., on our way home from a late dinner. More recently, I was randomly assaulted as I walked home from work. These violent and terrifying experiences lived with me for many months afterward as my mind and body sensed dangers that weren’t there—like the time I literally was startled by my shadow from a streetlight.

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My own traumatic history gave me a deeper understanding of the traumas that my therapy patients carry with them. Although our experiences are different, it's easy for me to relate to their post-traumatic reactions such as misplaced self-blame and feeling unsafe.

Over the years I’ve been struck by how many trauma therapists have said that their own difficulties made them more effective as therapists—and in many cases, were the inspiration for their work with trauma survivors. For this reason, I wasn’t surprised when I learned that trauma specialist Dr. Peter Levine had himself lived through horrific violence as a child. He recounts his trauma history in a new book, An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey.

I recently spoke with Levine on the Think Act Be podcast and he shared how trauma can have positive effects when we’ve worked through it.

Self-Compassion

A common reaction to trauma is self-criticism (Beck et al., 2004). You might blame yourself for what happened, thinking you “should have prevented it.” Maybe you believe there is something uniquely wrong with you that led you to be targeted. Or you might be critical of yourself for the struggles you’re having after the trauma.

Effective treatment for trauma usually shifts these negative beliefs about oneself. Many of the trauma survivors I’ve worked with have described no longer being upset with themselves for what happened; instead, they feel compassion for the person who endured that suffering. They stop blaming themselves for the trauma, and may want to comfort and care for their younger self.

This self-compassion was very evident in my conversation with Levine. He told me that as he processed the trauma of his past, he even discovered a “heart connection with the 18-month-old part of myself—that precious, dear child that I lost contact with, but that I felt again.”

Empathy

Healing from trauma also allows for greater empathy toward others who have been traumatized. “When we work through the trauma, we tend to become more empathetic and compassionate with others,” said Levine. “That’s one of the benefits not of trauma per se but of trauma healed, of trauma transformed.”

Part of that transformation can include recognizing in others the wounds that we could easily overlook. You realize that everyone around you is dealing with something you know nothing about, just as you have struggled with your own hidden hurts. You can see that others’ difficult behavior may have less to do with a personal failing on their part and more with the legacy of trauma that lives with them, and that they’re doing their best to manage.

Desire to Help Others

Empathy and compassion often extend not only to wanting the best for others, but wanting to do what you can to improve their lives. Some people will decide to do trauma-focused work, perhaps as a psychotherapist, a yoga instructor, a physician, or in some other healing tradition.

“I would say 95% of us who work as therapists or other healers do this because of our own injuries in our life,” said Levine. He noted that while it is important for those who work with other trauma survivors to “really address our core trauma issues,” it’s unrealistic to think we’ll be 100% healed from the pain of our past. “I don’t know if that’s a possibility!” he said. Instead, he described no longer “being stopped by the trauma,” because you “can see it, reflect on it, and let it move through you.”

Obviously, not everyone who has gone through trauma will go into a trauma-focused field. Instead, the care they extend to others might radiate through their everyday interactions. For example, a professor might be especially attuned to students who are struggling and can offer understanding while directing them toward the right supports. Or perhaps you just decide to cut people a break in your daily life, such as the driver who does something to annoy you. Instead of laying on the horn or giving them the finger, you decide to be one person who won’t make their day more unpleasant.

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Mind-Body Connection

Levine and others underscore the central role of the physical body in healing from trauma. “Trauma is something that absolutely starts in the body,” said Levine. Accordingly, he sees a “much wider recognition in many different fields how the body has to be central” in the healing process. Levine’s approach doesn't start with thinking, but by “working from sensations and feelings, and then connecting them to beliefs and thoughts and inner images.”

Levine described how he encountered his own trauma in a healing way by first connecting with his body. “Somatic experiencing is an approach that helps people become alive in their bodies, to reconnect with their bodies,” he said. “It’s not about erasing the trauma or changing our thoughts about the trauma. It’s really about finding a way to access our traumas in a healing way, and being able to use that wisdom to help not only ourselves, but to help others.”

As you develop greater awareness of your body, you can discover all the benefits that come with mind-body connection, such as:

• The body can help you stay grounded in the present, even when you’re going through a difficult time.
• Tuning into the body also helps you to know what you’re feeling, and it can give you insights into how you react in certain situations.
• Joining mind and body has also been shown to benefit physical health, such as reducing markers of inflammation (Morgan et al., 2014).

If you would like to address the trauma in your own life, consider seeking out a therapist who specializes in working with trauma survivors. You can learn more about the somatic experiencing approach at the Ergos Institute of Somatic Education, where Levine is the president and lead faculty member.

To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.