In this episode of our How To Series, I share my rules of thumb for recognizing when you are ‘in trauma’, so that you don’t let this altered state of being lead you down the wrong path in dealing with your symptoms. First and foremost, being in trauma just doesn’t feel good, so this is the first sign to look out for when assessing your state of mind. But you can also look for the following experiences that suggest an activated trauma system:

Foggy thinking, feeling unsafe, increased symptoms, feeling angrier or sadder than the situation seems to call for, being dissociated (meaning, not able to be fully present or present at all), emotionally numb, having slowed thinking, sometimes craving some sort of drive being satisfied (eating, sex, alcohol or other drug cravings, etc.), feeling the need to please someone or desperate for them to accept you or forgive you or text you back or respond to a message of some other kind, etc.

By knowing the things for which you need to look out to recognize trauma, you will be able to avoid the pitfalls of believing your own thoughts at such times — a key thing, because trauma related thinking can be not only skewed, but quite convincing. To use science and logic and have a clear head with which to combat doubt and fear, you will need to consider the likelihood that you are, at times, ‘in trauma’. This video can give you the guideposts to follow so you don’t fall prey to thinking that doubt can use against you.