Face your past to identify and overcome trauma
Those of us in the LGBTQ community have endured more than our share of what mental health professionals call Big-T Traumas like abuse or even physical attack. So, how do we identify the adverse experiences from the past that are impacting our lives today? What can we do to overcome those traumas and live the fabulous lives we deserve?
Hear ways you can identify and overcome trauma
Heal your mind and body by identifying and overcoming trauma
Nick Venegoni is a psychotherapist and certified hypnotherapist in private practice in San Francisco, California. He specializes in supporting queer professionals struggling with anxiety, anger, relationship issues or trauma, with the goal of helping them find more joy and ease in their lives. Nick also offers holistic coaching to spiritual LBGTQ individuals globally through Queer Healing Journeys and serves as the host of The Queer Spirit Podcast.
On this episode of Queer Money®, Nick joins us to share his definition of trauma and discuss why we may not even know we’ve experienced it. He explains how to identify trauma, describing the most common things we do to mask the pain of our adverse childhood experiences. Listen in for Nick’s insight around taking action if trauma is adversely affecting your life and learn about the close connection between our physical and mental health.
Topics covered on identifying and overcoming trauma
How Nick defines trauma
- Emotional response to a bad experience
- Accident, physical attack or vicarious from the environment
The research around Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- Higher score = stronger negative reactions in adulthood
- Also determines physical health
Nick’s insight on the drive to appear fabulous
- Look at WHY spending (retail therapy, travel to escape)
- A habit that appears healthy may be an avoidance strategy
Why we may not know we’ve experienced trauma
- Think experience was a normal challenge
- Obvious problem/struggle may be caused by trauma
How Nick helps clients identify and overcome trauma
- Examine habits (eating, drinking, exercise + social)
- Resource with basic self-care
The difference between trauma and suffering
- Suffering = result of trauma
- Example: suffer from depression as a result of a physical attack
How childhood traumas cause conflict in couples
- Dismiss other’s feelings due to different experience
- Take the effort to understand where your partner coming from
What we do to mask or ignore trauma
- Social media (fall into scroll hole)
- Drugs, alcohol, sex and shopping
How to determine when you’re masking trauma
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- Habit becomes detrimental to life
- Likely symptom of another problem
How overspending on others can be symptomatic of trauma
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- Spend to make people feel good, be liked
- Healthy only if giving without expectation
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What to do if the trauma is adversely affecting your life
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- What are my needs right now?
- Clearly communicate boundaries
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The signs that you’re recovering from trauma
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- Engage in bad habits less and less
- Feel better in body
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