Trauma is a heavy burden to bear. Have you noticed how it seems to impact every aspect of your life? Do you find yourself constantly discovering new ways in which trauma affects your life? Has it also changed your sense of self-worth?
It might not be easily noticeable, especially when it’s happening to you, but trauma can change the way you see yourself. It can make you believe the worst about yourself, regardless of whether it’s true or not. And, let’s be honest, most of the time it’s not.
But how can you know whether trauma is responsible for that? How do you know when it has taken over your thoughts?
You Feel Guilty
Trauma can make you feel guilty over what happened. It doesn’t matter whether it was your fault or not. You still feel like it was, and that has a strong effect on your self-esteem. You might blame yourself for whatever traumatic experience you had.
That’s how strong trauma is. It can make you believe this is all your fault to begin with, even when it’s not. And it’s hard to ignore that guilt. It’s hard to remember that none of it was your fault. And it’s hard to feel good about yourself when that’s all you can think about.
You Believe You’re Worthless
Trauma can make you believe the worst things about yourself. It makes you criticize yourself every time you make the most innocent of mistakes. And this weighs on you. The constant negative thoughts can lead you to believe you’ll never be good enough.
And it doesn’t matter how many times the people closest to you tell you differently; you still believe nothing but the worst of yourself. Of course, this impacts your sense of self-worth. How can it not? You’re constantly thinking you’re not worth anything, after all.
You’ve Lost Yourself
You’ve Lost YourselfWhen trauma has a strong impact on you, it can be hard to know who you are anymore. You start losing your sense of identity. You can only define yourself around your trauma. Nothing else matters. Nothing else is important enough to be mentioned.
But if you define yourself around your trauma, how can you possibly have a good sense of self-worth? Trauma isn’t good for you. Especially if you’re blaming yourself for what happened or you feel guilty in any way. If anything, it just makes you lose any sense of self-worth you had until it’s all gone.
You Don’t Trust Anyone
When you’ve experienced something traumatic, you lose your sense of safety. You can’t trust anyone or anything, not even yourself. That’s what trauma does. It takes away any safe space you have until you’re alone and afraid. But if you can’t trust anyone at all, then how are you supposed to move forward? If you can’t trust yourself, how can you rebuild your self-confidence?
Trauma makes it hard to trust again, but it’s essential if you want to be able to get past this. You’ll have to work through it, but that will take time. For now, you might have to power through. But you won’t have to forever.
Moving Forward
It’s possible to rebuild your self-esteem after trauma has shattered it. This isn’t something that will last forever, and you’ll be able to feel good about yourself again. But you might need professional help in order to get there.
It’s okay if you do. There’s nothing wrong with that. You’ve been through a lot, and that leaves its mark. But that’s what counseling is for, to help you move past the traumatic experiences that are holding you back. You’ll rebuild your sense of self-worth. But you have to let yourself reach out for help. Trauma therapy can help you regain your sense of control and find healing.
