Research indicates that women are twice as likely to experience a longer duration of post traumatic symptoms and display more sensitivity to stimuli that remind them of a trauma. Although women are at greater risk for negative consequences following traumatic events, many often hesitate to seek mental health treatment. Survivors often wait years to receive help, while others never receive treatment at all.
Untreated post traumatic symptoms not only have tremendous mental health implications, but can also lead to adverse effects on physical health. Although the mental and physical symptoms of stress can be quite debilitating, trauma is often undiagnosed by health professionals due to a lack of training, time and resources.
Traumatic experiences include physical, psychological and sexual abuse; domestic violence; witnessing violence against others; or even accidents. They can result in serious stress and detrimental consequences for survivors and their families. Approximately (50 per cent) of all individuals will be exposed to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Although the majority of individuals will be able to absorb the trauma over time, many survivors will experience long-lasting problems.
Approximately 8 per cent of survivors will develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many survivors currently living with PTSD experience symptoms that are both chronic and severe. These include: nightmares, insomnia, somatic disturbances, difficulty with intimate relationships, fear, anxiety, anger, shame, aggression, suicidal behaviours, loss of trust and isolation.
But regardless of what has happened in your life, you have one power that can change everything: the power of choice. You cannot choose the events that occur or the circumstances you may find yourselves in, but you can choose what you focus on, what you give meaning to, and what path you will walk down in the future. And it is these three choices, not your conditions, which determine the quality of your life.
Even when you experience a traumatic event, you are given a choice. How will you allow it to impact your life? How are you going to mold it? How are you going to turn your life around? You can allow the stress and uncertainty caused by these events to overwhelm you, or you can transform your life by making different decisions.
The bottom line is that you have a force within yourself that is so powerful, there is nothing that can keep you from doing, being, sharing, creating and giving whatever you envision in your life. If you are psychologically strong enough, you can not only survive, you can thrive when tough situations occur, as opposed to letting the environment control you and take over. It’s really about mastering strength within yourself so that you can conquer the outer world around you.
Ultimately, the ability to create an extraordinary life after a trauma is within your control. The most important thing for you to do is to throw away the script of the past, and to define how you want to live your life, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Set the standard for yourself so that your brain, body and soul know what you are committed to creating. Living life on your terms means refusing to allow the trauma from the past dictate your future. So you have a choice, you can achieve something far greater by allowing your courage and determination to prevail.