Wisdom of Three: Breaking Trauma Loops

We have all experienced some form of traumatic experience in our life, no matter how great or small. While some of these moments are easy to overcome, and we are able to naturally recover from them over time, some of us become trapped in patterns of negative behavior that are directly correlated to the traumas of our past. I call these patterns Trauma Loops.

Do you have a Trauma Loop? You might be surprised to discover that you do. One of mine, for instance, is to bottle away my real emotional reaction, and to substitute it for a more appropriate one. The real emotional reaction is then later released, usually inappropriately, as a substitute for yet another emotional truth, and then another... A loop, see? Other trauma loops I have noticed in myself and others is the tendency to replace a healthy reaction to rejection or disappointment with an explosive or unhealthy reaction. Yet another similar behavior is for a traumatic experience to be raised to the surface by ordinary events in day to day life - a sound, a smell, a touch - but rather than healthily noting the past trauma, and correlating it to the adverse reaction, the sound, smell, or touch is reacted to in an extremely emotional way.

Any of that sound familiar? Well, keep reading! You're definitely not alone, and, using the Triple Circles as a guide, I might even have a bit of wisdom to help.

Using this imagery, trauma is stored in the outer ring, in our spiritual center, where it has become a core wound. Our psyches use this core wound to help protect us from future threats in our world, mostly to prevent a similar wound from ever being inflicted again. While some trauma heals and mends, a lot of it simply doesn't, at least not without a lot of effort and patience. The reason that trauma can often be so debilitating and difficult to recover from is easy to see, when we see how the energies of trauma affect the overall energies of our reality.

While it is easy to assume that trauma is purely psychological, it isn't. Once an emotional or mental wound has been inflicted, it can actually impact the physical body in a number of ways. While the most obvious of these is probably panic attacks or nervous tics, the less obvious physical symptoms of psychological trauma are unexplained muscular pain, headaches, tiredness, twinges, hallucinations, and more. These physical triggers are only present or greatly increased when the trauma loop is active. Learning to notice these physical triggers can be a major step in learning to "see" when your trauma loop is active, which can help to alleviate any real world symptoms your loop causes (conflict, explosive emotions, paranoia, ect.). The general area of the symptom can often hint at which area of your body the energy of the trauma loop is commonly stored in, which can be a good place to begin energy healing or chakra work.

In addition to physical symptoms, there are mental or dream patterns that are evident when a loop is active. This level of identification can be especially helpful for loops that tend to be open long term, or that steadily gain momentum. When physical symptoms become ever-present, it can be difficult to gauge the degree to which we are being affected by a particular trauma loop. Some common mental or dream symptoms of my trauma loops being active, for instance, is heightened aggression, moroseness, or dreams of being lost in strange cities or buildings. These symptoms are very particular to each person and their particular trauma, but once recognized, can become especially powerful tools for healing the initial trauma wound.

Once you are able to identify a trauma loop and when it is active or inactive, it becomes a lot easier to address the trauma wound itself. Even if you aren't ready to deal with the wound causing the loop (believe me, I understand that all too well), simply being aware that you "aren't yourself," and are instead acting out of trauma-based behavior can do a lot of damage control in your personal life. It has also allowed me, personally, to be more forgiving and patient with myself, especially when I am in the midst of a trauma loop (and loosing the battle).

Facing a trauma wound is a deeply personal experience, but learning to see the patterns of behavior that are born from them gives us the power to face those wounds in the first place. If we do not see how the trauma is actively causing harm to others and ourselves in ways beyond its initial pain and suffering, we may never be inspired to change. We may not even know how to change, or where to begin. Being able to clearly see and define the triggers for your individual traumas is most certainly the first step in being able to heal and recover from them, which I certainly hope we do!

Affirmation:

I clearly see my wounds, and how to heal them.