@TraumaTherapySD

  • Quote by Anaϊs Nin

    Just as this photo has been changed by the filter I used on it, so our view of the world is colored by who we are.

    When someone is depressed it is harder for them to see, pay attention to, or remember things that are positive about themselves, others or the world.

    They are depressed and see the world as depressing.

    When someone is anxious they are fearful of the unknown and of how they will cope, and so they see the world as fully of fear inducing experiences.

    They are anxious so the see the world as anxiety producing.

    When someone is traumatized and plagued by memories of past events, it can be incredibly difficult for them to recognize when they are actually physically safe, because they chronically feel unsafe.

    They are traumatized so they see the world as traumatizing.

    But these are not life sentences, we can change ourselves and change the way we see the world.

    Anxious people can learn that not everything in the world is so scary, and that they can learn to calm themselves and trust how they will handle scary situations.

    Depressed people can learn how to keep moving forward, how search for disconfirming evidence that they and the world are terrible. They can learn that there is hope and meaning to be found.

    And traumatized people can learn how to regulate their nervous systems so that they can more accurately judge safety, they can learn to take care of themselves and they can learn that the negative judgements they made about themselves because of their trauma is not true.

    Healing is possible.