How Trauma Works and Controlling Negative Thoughts

This may be the most simplified summary of 2 of the largest and most important aspects of mental health impacting escapism practices, often alcohol use. Sometimes existing hurts inside and no matter how we look at the reasons and rationalize their insignificance, we feel helpless over the power they have over us. FEAR is the ugly 4 letter word that debilitates us and keeps us hiding from the mental pain increasing, or fighting in ways that often only amplify the negative thoughts that are suffocating us.

I’m going to skip the chemistry and temporal anatomy explanations for trauma in favor of a simple cause and effect analogy. At some point in your life, often when younger something happens that makes you fear for your survival and your very existence. If that event is strong enough, or repeated enough, or both, your reaction response towards being fearful becomes more easily stimulated and is over responsive. Think of a reactive cowering dog from an abusive home, same thing. Many of us live with this in varying degrees and need to learn how to breath into the sensation to overcome it, to the point that we can live with it or hopefully even lessen the intensity and reactivity we learned prior. Drinking does not help and once the drinking habit is gone, it becomes even more evident of the need to deal with this.

How do I overcome my negative thoughts? It’s easy enough to limit this consideration to some type of practice we hear about from religious or chastised practitioners seeking to overcome perversion. It is way larger than that in its application. Think road rage, self visualization, friendships, public interactions, phobias and yes even fears that may emanate from trauma. Is there a link? Might trauma reactivity also make our mind more active and prone to negative thoughts. Like trauma based fears, breathing into the thoughts, remembering all the similar thoughts that went away and illuminating those thoughts for what they are, only thoughts, is a huge step to living within the storm. Know that if you do good in life, there can be no guilt and that you deserve to live as you are fully, showing your own integrity as a participating life in this universe.

Go in peace and love, always. Happy Holidays.