Here’s Why It’s So Important To Name Your Trauma

What is trauma? Trauma is anything that splits your life into a before and an after.

When trauma finally registers as what it actually is, and you allow yourself to acknowledge and name it, you will start to see the ripples that your traumatic experiences have cast throughout your life. You will begin to identify behavioral patterns within yourself, as well as chain reactions that all link back to specific moments in time.

Trauma and demons have one thing in common: naming them gives you power over them. Identifying them within yourself is the first step to exercising them, freeing yourself of their influence as well as the chains that bond you to the shadows of your past. You cannot heal what you cannot name. Once you name your trauma, you might even find the courage to share your experiences with others, helping them name and heal from their own.

One thing I have learned upon naming my own trauma is that the only power I seem to have over the bad things that have happened to me is how vulnerable and open I am willing to allow myself to be in the retelling of them. Sometimes, you have to take back the power your trauma holds over you by finally letting yourself talk about it. Sometimes, you have to heal loudly in order to heal thoroughly. Though there are some things that you may never fully heal from, speaking or writing about the experiences and shedding light on the ugly parts of the healing process and coping mechanisms picked up along the way can help lessen the load for yourself, as well as someone else. When the truth hits the air, it tends to weigh less. It becomes easier to carry, especially when other people who can relate make you realize you don’t have to carry it alone. I think that’s why I write. To let go, but also to give others in similar situations something to hold onto.

Please trust me when I say that your story and experiences are so important, and you will impact and save so many people as you choose to share what you have been through. So, name your trauma, because once you identify it, you will understand that it is an entire entity that is separate from you. Name your trauma so that someday, you will be able to give it a proper introduction to other people who need to hear about it the most. Name your trauma so that others may find the courage to name and heal from their own.