As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, PAVE would like to talk about the importance of understanding and taking care of your mental health after experiencing trauma.

When a traumatic event occurs, it can affect us emotionally and physically, and can occur at various times after the traumatic event. Initial reactions to trauma can include exhaustion, confusion, sadness, anxiety, agitation, dissociation [disconnected from your thoughts, feelings, memories, and surroundings], physical arousal, and blunted affect [difficulty in expressing emotion]. In most cases, people have the tendency to minimize traumatic life events that continue to be distressing well after the event has occurred. We shame ourselves, thinking: “I should be over this by now,” or “it wasn’t that bad.” Family and friends may unconsciously add even more shame and say, “Why can’t you just let it go?” The problem with trauma is more often than not, it simply doesn’t go away on its own and no amount of persuasion can convince ourselves that we should be over it will change that fact that a traumatic event has occurred.

PTSD is a psychological disorder often developed after experiencing a traumatic experience, including acts of sexual violence. NHS’s statistics shows us that 1 in 3 people develop PTSD after experiencing a traumatic event, leading to 80 million people with PTSD in any given year. 

People with PTSD often exhibit symptoms like intrusive memories (including flashbacks), acts of avoidance (especially of the traumatic event), changes in physical and emotional reactions, as well as negative changes in thinking and mood. This includes trouble sleeping, feeling emotionally numb, hopelessness and being easily startled. However, these symptoms can be expressed in many different forms depending on the individual.

In recent years, “self care” has become a frequently used term in our everyday conversations. It’s a hot topic for social media influencers and users alike, spreading like wildfire on all forms of media sharing platforms. But are we using self care in the most accessible and sustainable way?

The general concept of self care focuses on the idea of taking care of oneself. On Instagram, this might look like filtered pictures of spa retreats, international vacations, encouragements of shopping sprees (#treatyourself) and luxury bath bombs or face masks, to name a few. While these activities can bring joy and certainly have their benefits, in the context of self care, they might only bring instant gratification on a superficial level.