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step 1. stop pretending youre fine
denial is like the default coping mechanism. you just keep going until it catches up. jung calls it the shadow, the stuff you stuff down. naturalistic angle. your brain is reacting exactly how an animal would if it got shocked one too many times. nothing weak about it. you cant heal something you wont admit is there.
step 2. figure out what actually happened, not the version your mind exaggerates
trauma distorts memory. makes everything feel bigger, more dangerous. write it down if you have to. get objective. what was done to you. what did you feel. what story did your brain build around it. jung 101. the story matters more than the event because thats what controls your behavior now.
step 3. stop moralizing your trauma responses
hypervigilance, shutting down, overthinking, rage, numbness. not moral failures. not flaws. naturalistic view. you’re literally a biological system reacting to threat. jung would say these reactions are the psyche trying to protect you in its own primitive way. dont shame them. observe them.
step 4. face the shadow in small doses
this is the real part. you dont jump in headfirst. you edge into it. you look at the memory or the feeling for a few seconds, then back off. like exposure but internal. jung says the shadow becomes a monster only when you avoid it. naturalistic angle. gradual exposure is how nervous systems recalibrate.
step 5. reconnect with your body
trauma isnt just mental. its stored in tension, breathing, posture. modern life pulls you into screens and disconnects you from physical sensations. get back into your body. walk. stretch. breathe slower. go outside. nothing mystical. youre just reminding your nervous system that youre not in danger right now.
step 6. stop living in environments that keep re-triggering you
this part hurts. some trauma sticks because your lifestyle keeps recreating the same stress conditions. too much noise, too many expectations, too much social pressure, too much digital stimulation. you need pockets of quiet. nature if you can get it. jung would call it returning to the Self. naturalistic view. get away from the overstimulation that keeps your brain locked in alert mode.
step 7. integrate, dont erase
the goal isnt to forget or to “be normal”. the goal is to absorb the experience into your identity in a way that stops controlling you. jung calls this individuation. naturalistic angle. the strongest animals are the ones that adapt to injury without losing function. you grow around the scar, not pretend it never happened.
step 8. give it time without giving up
healing isnt linear. some days youre fine, some days the past ambushes you. dont make it mean anything. its just your brain recalibrating. jung would say every step back is just another chance to integrate more. naturalistic view. organisms heal slow because slow healing sticks.
step 9. build something in your life that isnt about the trauma
could be a skill, a habit, a project, a community. the psyche needs something forward-facing so the past stops being your whole identity. trauma shrinks your world. building things expands it again. even small stuff counts.
step 10. accept that youre not the same person and maybe thats not a bad thing
trauma changes people. but sometimes the version you become is sharper, more aware, more grounded, less naïve. jung would say the wound is where the transformation begins. naturalistic mindset. survival rewires you. integration refines you.
denial is like the default coping mechanism. you just keep going until it catches up. jung calls it the shadow, the stuff you stuff down. naturalistic angle. your brain is reacting exactly how an animal would if it got shocked one too many times. nothing weak about it. you cant heal something you wont admit is there.
step 2. figure out what actually happened, not the version your mind exaggerates
trauma distorts memory. makes everything feel bigger, more dangerous. write it down if you have to. get objective. what was done to you. what did you feel. what story did your brain build around it. jung 101. the story matters more than the event because thats what controls your behavior now.
step 3. stop moralizing your trauma responses
hypervigilance, shutting down, overthinking, rage, numbness. not moral failures. not flaws. naturalistic view. you’re literally a biological system reacting to threat. jung would say these reactions are the psyche trying to protect you in its own primitive way. dont shame them. observe them.
step 4. face the shadow in small doses
this is the real part. you dont jump in headfirst. you edge into it. you look at the memory or the feeling for a few seconds, then back off. like exposure but internal. jung says the shadow becomes a monster only when you avoid it. naturalistic angle. gradual exposure is how nervous systems recalibrate.
step 5. reconnect with your body
trauma isnt just mental. its stored in tension, breathing, posture. modern life pulls you into screens and disconnects you from physical sensations. get back into your body. walk. stretch. breathe slower. go outside. nothing mystical. youre just reminding your nervous system that youre not in danger right now.
step 6. stop living in environments that keep re-triggering you
this part hurts. some trauma sticks because your lifestyle keeps recreating the same stress conditions. too much noise, too many expectations, too much social pressure, too much digital stimulation. you need pockets of quiet. nature if you can get it. jung would call it returning to the Self. naturalistic view. get away from the overstimulation that keeps your brain locked in alert mode.
step 7. integrate, dont erase
the goal isnt to forget or to “be normal”. the goal is to absorb the experience into your identity in a way that stops controlling you. jung calls this individuation. naturalistic angle. the strongest animals are the ones that adapt to injury without losing function. you grow around the scar, not pretend it never happened.
step 8. give it time without giving up
healing isnt linear. some days youre fine, some days the past ambushes you. dont make it mean anything. its just your brain recalibrating. jung would say every step back is just another chance to integrate more. naturalistic view. organisms heal slow because slow healing sticks.
step 9. build something in your life that isnt about the trauma
could be a skill, a habit, a project, a community. the psyche needs something forward-facing so the past stops being your whole identity. trauma shrinks your world. building things expands it again. even small stuff counts.
step 10. accept that youre not the same person and maybe thats not a bad thing
trauma changes people. but sometimes the version you become is sharper, more aware, more grounded, less naïve. jung would say the wound is where the transformation begins. naturalistic mindset. survival rewires you. integration refines you.
