Trauma Recovery Scale: Discovering the Path to Overcoming and Healing from Trauma
What is the trauma recovery scale? Can I really heal my trauma?
Surprisingly, the Trauma Recovery Scale is not an actual psychological measurement tool; rather, it is a metaphorical term used to describe the journey of healing and recovery from trauma. It symbolizes the progress and growth individuals can experience as they work towards overcoming the effects of trauma! That’s fantastic news for those of us who are doing inner work, as we have a solid metric to refer to. I’ve found it quite encouraging for my journey as well as tracking client progress!
While there isn't a specific "scale" that guarantees complete healing from trauma, it is possible to find significant relief and improve overall well-being through trauma-focused therapies, self-care practices, and support systems. Healing from trauma involves a combination of professional help, such as therapy or counseling, along with personal commitment, resilience, and self-compassion.
Every individual's healing journey is unique, and the timeline for recovery varies. It is important to approach trauma healing with patience, understanding, and a willingness to engage in self-reflection and self-care. While complete eradication of trauma's impact may not be possible, it is absolutely possible to heal, regain control over your life, and foster a sense of empowerment and well-being. If you are struggling with trauma, consider seeking the support of a qualified mental health professional who can guide you on your path towards healing.
Changing the meaning of what happened allows us to move forward and change our limiting beliefs and the stories we tell about ourselves.
People often ask me, “Is it possible to overcome my childhood trauma?” And, to that, I offer a resounding, “Yes!” Moving past the trauma is freedom, but I also understand how people might think they are trapped by what happened to them. For sure, what happened was not okay, and it DID happen. There is no denying that what happened really happened.
Trauma and abuse recovery coaching aim to move you past the meaning you made about yourself due to the trauma and shame your caregivers inflicted on you. The continued shame your inner critic bludgeoned you with. It is not about re-writing history, pretending it did not happen, or bypassing the content and reality of what took place.
To survive the trauma, trauma, and abuse, survivors often had to swallow the lies they were told about themselves—that they were bad, unworthy, or not good enough—to survive a very scary reality: their home life. They came to believe that they were powerless to feel or believe anything different than the limiting beliefs and the resulting stories they created about themselves. These limiting beliefs and stories kept them safe and feeling like they belonged in their dysfunctional world. As children, safety, belonging, and love are three very important needs, we have that must be met in order to be able to survive. If we believe we are going to lose these things, we will do whatever it takes to get them—lie, steal, take on abuse, manipulate, please and appease, or create false beliefs and stories about ourselves. Once we are grown, however, we no longer need these methods of feeling safe, loved, and belonging, and we can change them.
Feeling powerless and unsafe are the main states of being trauma survivors experienced.
What are the stories or false narratives that arise from our limiting beliefs? Well, there are many, and they are varied, of course, since each of us has our own specific book. But, for example, something like this could have happened: You dropped a glass once, and your abusive caregiver yells at you and says,” You can never do anything right! You are so clumsy!” So, you start to act clumsy in front of people frequently, and people comment on how clumsy you are. Your inner critic echoes this sentiment, and you start becoming increasingly clumsy. At some point, you might even try to be perfect so that you never come across as clumsy. But that extreme measure can actually create situations where you seem even more clumsy. The story you start to create is, “I am always clumsy. Every time I walk anywhere, I trip over my own two feet. I can’t do anything right. I am not good enough or coordinated enough to be in sports. I should just not try to be an athlete. I will surely fail at that. I will fail at life because I am so clumsy, cannot be an athlete, and no one will ever love me or want to marry me.”
Now, this story may or may not be entirely conscious, and you see how one thing can quickly lead to another, right? It becomes this huge “story” about how you will surely fail at life and never be loved because you are not cut out to be an athlete all because you dropped a glass one time and someone shamed you mercilessly about making a simple mistake. As seemingly absurd as this may seem to the adult mind, to a child, losing this kind of control, doing it “wrong,” and being shamed for it is life or death. Children need to feel like they are in control, and when they are abused and shamed, they believe it must be their fault. Their parents are like gods and can never do wrong, so the child must believe it is his fault and that he can control everything.
This story begins to fuel your experiences in your life. Clumsy begets clumsy. All along your life, you will have many opportunities to ”prove yourself right” as a clumsy person who should never be an athlete, will never get married or be loved, and will fail at life. The stories we tell ourselves—that we end up truly and deeply believing—are very powerful because what we believe is what we achieve. You literally embody the shame, powerlessness, and unsafety created by the belief and story that you are a clumsy person but since you don’t want to feel your shame, powerlessness, and unsafety in your body, you pop into your head and live out this mostly unconscious story in your life. Going into your head does serve a purpose, though; when you are young and need to feel like you have some control and safety over your life, your story helps you know what to expect and helps you navigate life in a more predictable way.
We start to see trauma differently when we do the recovery work.
We start to notice and change the inner critic’s constant abuse. We learn to have internal boundaries between who YOU are and the inner critic’s lies and judgments of us. This leads to being able to spot and then change the inner dialogue—the limiting beliefs and the stories. We can realize that we needed these things as children to navigate an uncertain and scary world, but that we no longer need these methods as safe, grown, fully aware, healthy adults.
Learning to be in your body instead of always in your mind is also freeing. You get to be with your old (and new) emotions and let them flow again. You get to let the pain in your body that the inner critic’s messages and your stories created to be felt, expressed, and let go of. Your beliefs live inside your body, and energy (emotions) are created from these beliefs. Honoring where you have been in your life, how HARD it was for you, and how you feel as a result liberates you from the prison of your mind and helps you settle into presence and being grounded in your body and your life. You start to embody your authentic self and love who you truly are, not what your false narratives told you about yourself.
In this way, yes, you can move past your trauma. Isn’t this exciting? Using the metaphorical trauma recovery scale, individuals can assess their personal growth, resilience, and ability to overcome the lasting effects of trauma. The trauma recovery scale represents individuals’ gradual progression as they embark on their journey of healing and resilience after experiencing trauma. It’s a tool I love to use alongside clients, and has helped me a ton paired with the other knowledge in this article!
Please contact me to schedule a free one-hour coaching session if you need help moving past your trauma or abuse. There is always support available to you and I hope this article has helped you in some way!
