4 Ways of Guarding Against Discouragement While Recovery from Trauma
Sometimes discouragement with our recovery from childhood trauma comes in waves. We want progress to occur faster. If we are honest, we want fast food recovery and that is just not possible.
Guarding against discouragement, or actively fighting, is a skill every childhood trauma survivor needs. Here is my list of four ways you can guard against discouragement.
1. Write it down
In those times, I take stock of how far I have come. I remember my little triumphs and victories. I write down in my journal every bit of progress, no matter how small. When I am discouraged, I can get out an old journal and read about my progress.
You can also write down how you feel before and after practicing meditation and tapping (emotional freedom technique). I rate my emotions or anxiety on a 0 to 10 scale. Seeing that tools like meditation and tapping help you feel better serves as proof that you are progressing.
2. Don’t compare yourself to others
Comparing your progress to someone else’s progress is a sure-fire way to feel discouraged. Each of us is on a different path. My recovery will not look like yours.
Comparison becomes a competition. If you compare yourself to others, you may always find yourself coming up short. “There is one thing that you’re better at than other people: being you. This is the only game you can really win,” says the blog, Farnam Street.
“Above all, stop comparing yourself with other people,” declares the February 28 entry of the Jesus Calling devotional. “This produces feelings of pride or inferiority, sometimes a mixture of both.”
3. Establish a daily meditation practice
Meditation has multiple benefits, including knowing your mind better.
By spending time every day in calmness and stillness for a few minutes, you learn about yourself. You learn how your mind works, which allows you to better control your thoughts. When discouraging thoughts about yourself come to your mind, you can reject them just as you let go of thoughts as you meditate.
“Meditation brings clarity, calmness, and kindness — both towards ourselves and others. It’s about becoming familiar with our breathing, our thoughts, our emotions — you get to meet your worries face-to-face,” the blog, Fearless Culture proclaims.
4. Write encouraging messages in your journal
The opposite of discouragement is encouragement. Recently, I began writing encouraging messages in my journal. For example, if I feel discouraged about my recovery, I would write, “I am healing from childhood recovery right on time. I am getting better every day. I will be freed of the effects of childhood trauma. I just have to keep going.”
If you are unsure what encouraging messages to write to yourself, Healing Brave has a list of 17 encouraging phrases to tell yourself every day, including these three:
- I am strong enough and wise enough to grow from my pain.
- I am the guardian of my mind, body, and soul. I protect myself from negativity. No darkness can dim my light.
- My worth is immeasurable.
How do you encourage yourself? Drop a comment and let me know.
