Trauma Can Hurt, Change & Transform Us – But It Can Never Break Us
Our trauma can chain and torment us, causing us to feel like we can never escape the pains of the past.
Some trauma cuts deeper than others, yet in the end it all rips us apart the same. There’s a clear line of the person who you were before, and the person you are now, after. The versions meshing intermittently, never staying consistent enough to blend together completely.
Trauma changes us, but we can never allow it to break us.
Trauma peels apart our layers.
Imagine the intricacy of a shell. Each layer designed specifically, shaped to protect what’s beneath it.
Now, imagine dropping that shell on the ground.
Will it break completely or will it shatter suddenly in a bunch of pieces?
Trauma chips at us, layer by layer, yet it doesn’t break us as a whole. It peels apart starting from the outside, revealing vulnerability. But it can only destroy us if it eventually breaks through each layer on the inside. And the inside is where our strength is, where we push and fight through no matter what trauma tries to take from us.
Trauma makes us stronger, not weaker.
Not every person will experience trauma, and for the people that do, not all trauma will be the same.
Some will feel lighter, while others will feel like a pile of bricks on your chest. We feel the weakest when we’re walking through the unimaginable, but we’re becoming the strongest versions of ourselves by pushing through the hardest times of our lives.
Weakness turns into strength, and knowing we got through the worst of the worst can have us feeling the strongest we’ve ever felt.
Trauma can have ever-lasting effects, but our pain won’t.
It’s not to say things will always feel heavy, because they won’t. The more time that passes, the easier it becomes to let go, little by little. The pain won’t be so apparent. Days, even months will go by and you won’t even think about what you endured.
Then you’ll have moments where something will happen, and you’ll be sucked right back in to be reminded of the trauma. These moments can be sudden, and sometimes they won’t happen at all. It’s not a chain to the past, but rather our bodies reminding us that we can endure more than we even know.
Our pain won’t last forever. While there may be moments that trigger trauma, it’s important to remember that’s all they are—moments. These are the same moments that we pushed through, even on our darkest days.
Trauma allows new doors to be opened, not closed.
What’s most important going through life is finding people and experiences that we can relate to.
If nobody understood what we’re going through or have been through, it’d be harder to push on and persevere. Trauma opens doors to the future, allowing you to transform into a person that was stronger than ever before. It allows you to relate to people going through similar things you are, and helping others know that they are never alone.
Every experience is a learning process, and while trauma tries to destroy us, the bigger part in us can never let it. The trauma that tries to destroy us wants to deceive us into thinking that we don’t have any sort of future. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Sometimes the things in our path that were meant to destroy us, align us up with the best things that will ever happen to us. And while it may take every ounce of strength to fight through it, it’ll all be worth it when we’re on the other side.
Trauma can change us, transform us, mold us, but it can never break us. No matter how hard it tries.