Unresolved trauma refers to traumatic experiences that you have not yet let go of. When scary or distressing things happen to us, we just want to forget they happened. We try to push down the memory and avoid situations or people that remind us of the trauma. Unresolved traumas could be unresolved childhood trauma or events that happen in adulthood such as heartbreak, divorce, accidents, etc.

For people who have experienced trauma, triggers are a reminder of the traumatic events experienced throughout life. Although triggers are often harmless, they are perceived as dangerous due to their association with the original trauma and thus can cause emotional disturbances or physical discomfort. Learning to identify and manage your triggers can feel difficult at first, but it’s an important part of the recovery process.

Coping skills are behaviors that are designed to help you feel better when you are struggling. These skills may be learned or engaged in unconsciously as an attempt to reduce distressing emotions. Coping skills can be classified as healthy/ or adaptive or and unhealthy/ or maladaptive.

Emotions are an essential part of who we are, so essential that we are born with them. As we grow older, emotions can become complicated, confusing, and dysregulated. It is important for individuals to learn to identify emotions and be able to talk about them. Using emotions as messengers can be healthy for our emotional well-being.

It’s totally normal to feel anxious after experiencing something traumatic.