In order to “heal” from any number of diagnoses – first, you must process your trauma
My name is Nikki Dalhamer and I specialize in trauma-informed mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) coaching & consulting for adolescents ages 13-18 and adults with primary mental health and possible secondary substance use diagnoses. I believe that TRAUMA is the real gateway drug. Trauma is the root cause of most pain in those suffering from mental health and SUD diagnoses. In order to “heal” from any number of diagnoses – first, you must process your trauma. Once you can acknowledge that pain/TRAUMA is present, admit that you need guidance, in order to process it, and open your mind and heart to the idea of healing (most likely without formal closure/a formal apology from those who have hurt you) – you can begin to take back your power and find your voice again. You will begin to be able to advocate for yourself and put boundaries in place that will allow you to continue to grow and learn how to manage your pain and emotions in a safe and productive way. However, in order to process your trauma you must first define it – you must put a name to the face.
Trauma is an experience that was and continues to be deeply distressing to you, but what is deeply distressing to one person might not be to someone else. Trauma is NOT a competition and healing is not linear, meaning that healing does not look the same for everyone. There are peaks and valleys – there are good days and bad – there is progress and regression. Trauma is a physiological, visceral memory, almost like muscle memory. Even if your brain does not produce a visual memory of the event, your body keeps score. Your body remembers the feeling of distress that was present at the time the trauma initially occurred. Therefore, when a similar event occurs in the future, your body immediately returns to fight or flight mode. You immediately go back to the time and place where the initial trauma occurred, despite the fact that trauma may not actually be present at that current moment.
Typically, you cannot escape your “triggers” permanently. Trauma healing is not meant to erase those events and feelings from your mind completely, nor “fix” you. Trauma healing is meant to allow you to process your body’s memories/trauma, provide you with validation and hope, and offer you healthy coping skills that will hopefully allow you to live a safe, productive, and meaningful life.
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I’m Nikki Dalhamer, and I’m on a mission to make a difference in the lives of individuals struggling with chemical dependency and trauma. As a Trauma-Informed CDCA, I wear many hats – I’m a Trauma Recovery Coach, Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Podcast Host and much more all driven by a singular goal: fostering recovery and well-being.
