Do I Have Trauma?

Trauma and Emotional Response

Trauma is an emotional response to a challenging event, which can be either physical or emotional. Trauma isn’t always obvious; it can be hidden within the subtleties of our lives, shaping our perceptions, reactions, and relationships. While some events, like war, assault, or intense physical experiences, clearly create trauma, emotional trauma can be silent and challenging to pinpoint. Trauma may not necessarily be a single event but can stem from recurring experiences during early life when we are most vulnerable.

Trauma is something we all experience. Our conscious, logical thinking isn’t fully available to us until we are about six years old, so, without an objective mind, we interpret everything personally.

Most of us experienced emotional trauma to some degree in childhood, and some of these experiences might even stem from ancestral patterns or birth trauma. Normalizing trauma healing means identifying and addressing these original wounds.

What Triggers the Search for Core Issues?

At some point, we may find ourselves unhappy, stressed, anxious, ashamed, struggling financially, or facing difficulties in relationships. Rather than exploring the origins of these issues, we often subconsciously conclude, “This is just who I am—lazy, anxious, or not good enough.” More accurately, a part of us feels unworthy because, for example, one of our parents was very critical, and we internalized that voice.

Instead of investigating the root cause, we often accept these struggles as intrinsic parts of ourselves, failing to recognize that they may link back to past experiences.

Acknowledging Trauma

Acknowledging the presence of trauma is not about assigning blame but about bringing awareness and healing to our inner child. This is a journey of self-discovery, gradually peeling away layers of conditioning to uncover how past experiences impact our present selves.

Understanding Emotions

Nobody taught us about emotions, as it wasn’t part of our school curriculum. Yet, emotions, challenging thoughts, and beliefs greatly influence us daily. We have these big emotions and often don’t know how to handle them, resorting to suppression or coping mechanisms. Emotions reveal our conditioning.

Emotions themselves are not the problem; rather, it’s the attachment or identification with a particular emotion that creates difficulties. Unprocessed emotions represent stuck energy that’s ready to be transformed.

Normalizing Emotional Healing

We brush our teeth daily and may exercise multiple times per week. Similarly, let’s normalize emotional work and trauma healing. Normalizing these practices is not about blaming but about bringing awareness and healing to our inner child.

Understanding our personal pain, its origins, and how it stems from family dynamics opens our eyes to collective trauma—patterns we also see in society, work, community, and politics. Recognizing these patterns in our immediate environment enables us to perceive them on a larger scale.

For example, common beliefs such as "we are small players," "we have to do things we don’t want to do," or "we don’t have a choice" reflect manipulation strategies that drain personal power.

The more of us who awaken to these patterns, the brighter our future will be.

Personal and Collective Trauma Connection

As we navigate personal healing, we realize this process isn’t confined to the individual. By examining family dynamics and personal pain, we gain insights into broader societal structures. Recognizing collective patterns in society, workplaces, or politics fosters responsibility and helps build a more emotionally resilient future.

Solutions

In the journey of healing, the question, “Do I have trauma?” evolves into an exploration of our inner selves. We learn to care for our wounded parts as we would for a child. This journey encourages empathy, compassion, and understanding, helping us become the nurturing figures our younger selves needed.

Daily practices that support emotional healing are essential. Engaging with healing modalities that resonate with us and practicing exercises that connect us to our emotions help us address our past with compassion, gradually releasing layers of trauma for both personal and collective healing.

If we don’t address personal trauma, we may distract ourselves or pass it on in some way. We can walk this path with kindness and compassion, without division or blame.

Healing Modalities

Emotional healing practices, such as EFT (a valuable tool for processing trauma) and IFS (working with different parts within us), can be transformative.

IFS: In IFS, we view emotions, thoughts, and body sensations as parts carrying burdens from the past rather than as our true selves. For example, instead of thinking, "I am an angry person," we can understand, “I have an angry part,” and then explore why it’s carrying that burden.

EFT: EFT is a useful tool for calming the nervous system in moments of triggering or stress.

Daily Practice: A First-Aid Technique for Anxiety

Let’s say you’re feeling anxious. Here’s a simple exercise to connect with your anxious part during a trigger:

1. Find a minute or two to be with yourself.

2. Take a deep breath and recognize the energy pattern of shame and fear. If we have time to breathe, it means we’re not in a life-or-death situation.

3. Connect to this energy. This part is likely a young version of yourself that feels scared.

4. Offer comforting statements like:

   • “It’s okay.”

   • “I’m here for you.”

   • “I hear you.”

   • “My body is having this reaction, but it’s alright.”

Simply being present with this part may be all that’s needed. Healing may also come from non-verbal support, such as witnessing, holding space, or embracing this part of yourself.