When you have experienced trauma, it is easy to get caught up, even lost, in all of the thoughts and feelings associated with trauma. Of course, none of us do this on purpose or even consciously. It is not like you wake up in the morning and try to find ways to get sidetracked by all of these thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories. And when they do surface, you do all you can to push them back down or avoid them.
The reason it is so easy to get caught up in the thoughts and feelings of trauma is that the thinking part of your mind is always at work. The mind has something to say about almost everything. It is always offering commentary on your life and how you are being in the world. The thinking mind is not good or bad; it is just what the thinking mind does.
As a way to experience this thinking mind, pause for a moment.
Close your eyes and for the next 45 seconds, just be aware of all the thoughts your mind gives you. Don’t try to create thoughts; watch as your mind creates the thoughts. When you are done, list all the thoughts you had. If you are like most people, the array of thoughts is random. What you experienced in those 45 seconds is what your mind is doing all the time. With this constant commentary that you usually aren’t aware of, it is easy for you to begin to believe the things that your mind tells you about who you are.
But the problem is not just the vast array of thoughts your mind offers you. It is the nature of these thoughts. The thinking mind is always looking for problems or threats. It will evaluate almost every situation as good or bad, right or wrong, safe or threatening. And, again, that’s not a bad thing. This evaluating and judging can help you avoid dangers that could be harmful to you.
The final problem with this thinking mind is that it does not limit looking for threats to the outside world. Imagine what happens when the mind turns its attention to the world inside of us: our thoughts and feelings. This can be especially problematic for those who have experienced trauma. It is easy for this thinking mind to look at almost anything through the lens of the trauma. So simple, ordinary events that can add richness to your life now become a place where the trauma can show up again.
This is why trauma treatment often involves learning mindfulness practices. Along with your thinking mind, there is also an observing mind. Mindfulness allows you to access and learn the wisdom of this observing mind. Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way, a way that is different from your thinking mind. You pay attention in an accepting and nonjudgmental way.
How does mindfulness help?
One, it offers you clarity. When you are mindful of an experience, you can see it clearly for what it is; you don’t have to hold on to the experience as literally true. For example, take the emotion of fear, something felt by many people who experience trauma. Mindfulness allow you to let the fear be there, without fighting it or getting caught up in it. From a nonjudgmental place, the fear becomes a collection of thoughts and bodily sensations.
Two, when you see and experience with clarity, you now have the chance to respond differently to it. Go back to the example of fear. Fear is no longer something you are (I am afraid). Instead, fear is something that is happening to you (The fear is back). From this place, you now have enough emotional space to make a choice. You can be mindful, even accepting, of your fear…and make a choice that is more in line with what gives you meaning.
For more information about trauma treatment, click here.