Navigating trauma requires a multidisciplinary approach involving psychological strategies, dietary guidance, and appropriate exercise interventions. Your body and mind will store trauma long after the experience that caused the trauma is gone. Great care should be taken to incorporate trauma forward strategies in general wellness. The thought of starting a fitness journey can be scary, overwhelming and emotional because many of us have perceived failures related to that journey in our past. There are many powerful systems that integrate interventions while giving one enough room to explore the healing they need.
Sometimes trauma can be so strong that we will resist reappraising a good thing because our past relationship with it opens old wounds. If at any point my readers are triggered by any of the following tools I invite you to be kind to yourself and assess if you can continue. If you find that you may want to try to have a corrective emotional experience I invite you to continue reading, if not that is fine too. Sometimes self compassion is walking away and other times its entering into a difficult discussion with yourself, only you know what your emotional resources are like on any given day. You are worth your own effort either way and I’m proud of you.
I invite my readers to start a list with me. On that list you should consider the following tools and write down the items that may work for you. If you walk away with even one tool that helps in your fitness your journey has already been a success:
- Seek Professional Guidance:
- Consult with a therapist specializing in trauma-focused therapy to help navigate trauma without re-traumatizing yourself. Occasionally well meaning mental health professionals can be great specialists but relatively poor at navigating trauma. Its very important that if you have had bad experiences that you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and disregard treatment entirely. Being a good advocate for yourself and finding someone thats a good fit is the best thing you can do. Its worth noting that therapists are people too and a single bad interaction can re-traumatize a client even with a therapist that would otherwise fit well. Sometimes we buy something that fits poorly and its better to get it tailored than it is to throw it out or return it. Communicate your needs and be assertive.
- Work with a registered dietitian experienced in treating disordered eating to develop a balanced and sustainable meal plan. No matter who you choose to consult on eating plans its best to seek a professional that relates to you and understands the nuance of your relationship with food. Sometimes when trauma or health issues result in disordered eating the best thing a client can do is find a specialist to help them navigate their specific needs.
- Mindful Eating Practices:
- Practice mindful eating by paying attention to hunger cues, eating slowly, and and being mindful of the experience of eating. Avoid distractions like phones or screens during meals. Its important that you have the capacity to sit with a meal and provide yourself with a corrective emotional experience especially if there have been traumatic associations with eating plans in the past.
- Use a food journal to track emotions, hunger levels, and food intake patterns to recognize triggers and problematic behaviors. Take accurate data! When scientists looked at moderation over large groups of people they found people were generally very inaccurate in their perception of their own dietary intakes. Even if that’s not the case if data collection became problematic in the past it may be worth exploring what a corrective experience would look like either in discussions with a professional or a trusted friend or family member.
- Focus on balanced meals that include a variety of nutrient-dense foods (lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats) to support physical and mental well-being. If you need to take the guesswork out take a good multivitamin and gradually optimize your eating plan over time.
- Avoid strict diets or restrictive eating patterns that can exacerbate disordered eating behaviors. Plan your meals in advance and provide yourself with easy healthy eating plan opportunities like fresh fruit and veggies to snack on. If eating healthy is easier you are more likely to choose the easy option.
- Establish a Healthy Fitness Routine.
- Engage in physical activity that you enjoy and that brings a sense of pleasure and relaxation rather than focusing solely on burning calories. Activities like yoga, walking, or swimming can be safe and beneficial. Your primary focus should always be growing your healthy relationship with physical activity. When you take no interest in fitness, fitness eventually takes an interest in you either through injury or poor health outcomes.
- Your body stores past trauma, be kind to yourself, and do not go overboard with activity all at once. Savor the experience and give your body time to adapt to the new load so you avoid injury and re-traumatizing yourself.
- Avoid excessive exercise or using it as a means to compensate for food intake. Its extremely difficult to nearly impossible to exercise ones way out of caloric excess. As an example; a cup of peanuts is the caloric equivalent of running for 1.5 hours.
- Develop Coping Mechanisms:
- Learn and practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation to manage stress and anxiety associated with trauma and disordered eating.
- Make a checklist of coping assets and put them in a box. When the need arrives to address stress and coping you will have all the tools you need in one place and you can go down the checklist one by one using your tools.
- Identify healthy coping strategies such as journaling, creative outlets, or seeking social support to deal with emotional triggers.
- Surround yourself with supportive friends, family, or support groups. Having a strong support network can help in coping with trauma and disordered eating behaviors.
- Consider joining support groups or seeking out online communities where individuals share similar experiences and provide encouragement.
- Work with a therapist to challenge negative thoughts and beliefs surrounding food, body image, and self-worth. Replace these with positive affirmations and realistic perspectives.
- Recovery from trauma and disordered eating takes time. Practice self-compassion and be patient with yourself throughout the healing process. Set realistic goals and celebrate small victories.
Remember, these tips are general guidelines. Individualized treatment plans should be tailored to each person’s specific needs and should be overseen by qualified healthcare professionals in each respective field. The greatest act of self compassion that you can do is surround yourself with the tools and supports that are appropriate for your own growth and healing. Be kind to yourself, you are worth your own effort.
