How to Rebuild Inner Peace After Trauma: Small Daily Practices That Work

Small Daily Practices

Healing from trauma can feel like an overwhelming feat. Facing your past head-on is in itself a challenge, as is trying to regain your life and composure. That said, with the right support team in place, you can continue to progress through your healing journey, gaining confidence with each step of the way. Below are emotional regulation and mind-body connection practices that you can begin as soon as today to start moving and processing your thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Emotional Regulation Practices

After experiencing trauma, the body tends to be in fight or flight mode. The body is unable to understand the difference between a tiger chasing after you and someone coming up behind you in the grocery store. As a result, you may feel as if you’re constantly on edge and unable to let your guard down. Know that this is a fairly common phenomenon and that incorporating some emotional regulation practices into your routine can help settle your nervous system and allow you to process difficult emotions.

Visualization and Manifestation

Visualization and manifestation are two practices becoming more and more popular in the wellness world. Visualization is a therapeutic technique that reframes experiences to aid in healing. Through the technique, you’re activating similar neural networks that are used in real-life experiences. This helps train the brain, strengthening new pathways devoted to calmness, strength, and growth. Returning to a visualization of a beach and watching the waves go in and out with the tide can be a memory you access when you’re feeling overwhelmed or depressed.

Manifestation is a similar technique that encourages individuals to think about their future positively. It’s all about envisioning who you want to be and how you want to feel as if you’re living your “dream” life. If you desire love, perhaps you think about what your ideal Saturday would be with your partner. How would you feel waking up beside them, and what activities would you want to do together? These practices can help shift the blame and sadness away from yourself and instead rewire how you want your life to be from here on out.

If you’re currently in an inpatient care facility, such as a mental health rehab in Utah, visualization and manifestation can be extremely beneficial in putting your life back together after you leave the center. Think about how your life beyond the rehab center will feel, who you’ll want to see first, and what waking up in your own bed will be like. Focusing on these future moments can help make your current position feel less isolating.

Journaling

For this practice, you’ll only need two items: a piece of paper and a pen. While journaling can be a simple act, many are intimidated by it. You may question what you will write about or even what you need to say that is so important to write down. However, if you let go of these thoughts and instead just think of it as a form of self-expression, you may be surprised by just how much you get out of it.

Journaling is a safe, private way to truly express how you’re feeling. Through the act of physical writing, you may be able to see clarity on your past trauma and move forward by being more gentle and kind to yourself. If you’re unsure of where to begin, you can look up some journal prompts online to get started or ask a therapist or counselor to provide them for you.

Another journaling technique is referred to as “morning pages.” Originally coined by Julia Cameron in her book “The Artist’s Way,” morning pages are intended to let all the thoughts and feelings out of your brain and onto the page. You’ll write three full pages first thing in the morning without thinking back at them or rereading them. Adding this technique or journaling in general to your routine can become a truly healing practice.

Mind-Body Connection Practices

Trauma is often stuck in the body. It can present itself as tenseness, fluttering heart, headaches, digestive and gut issues, and chronic pain. Rebuilding inner peace after trauma needs to include physical practices to release this pent-up tension.

Breathing Exercises

The breath is a powerful tool. But on a normal basis, you probably aren’t thinking or paying too much attention to your inhales and exhales. Mindful breathing exercises can help soothe the nervous system and put your body in a parasympathetic state.

Box breathing is a simple technique to learn that you can practice anytime, anywhere. To practice this exercise, inhale for the count of four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and repeat. You can work your way up to holding your breath for a few more seconds, around six or even eight, if you’re feeling particularly anxious.

Diaphragmatic, or belly breathing, is another technique to try. Lie down or sit in an upright position, putting one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Slowly inhale through the nose, feeling the sensation of your belly rise, and exhale through the nose. Practice this for as long as you need to reset and feel calm.

Movement

Movement is an additional tool to help release stressors within the body. If you’re not an avid exerciser, don’t skip over this practice! A daily morning walk counts, as does stretching on your bedroom floor. Movement comes in all shapes and sizes, so don’t assume that you need to sign up for a half-marathon to check this off your list.

Rather, think of activities that you love doing. Maybe you turn on your favorite song and jump around in your kitchen while waiting for your coffee to brew. Perhaps you do a few squats and lunges while you watch your kids play in the backyard. Or maybe you decide to pick up a sport that you loved in high school, such as tennis or basketball. Whatever type of movement you can squeeze into your day, know that it’s helping regulate your nervous system.

Tips and Takeaways

There isn’t a single way to heal trauma. You might choose to try all the methods mentioned above or just a few. Some may work well for you, while others may not fit your lifestyle. That’s completely okay. Just remember that prioritizing your own well-being and establishing daily routines can help you feel like you’re in control of your own life.

Samantha Kindler

Samantha Kindler is a world traveler, with four continents conquered and three remaining. She lives in Hawaii, where she enjoys hiking and has the beach available to her throughout the year. She recently got the opportunity to spend over ten months in Korea and fell in love with their minimalist way of life. She has driven to 49 states with her father, but upon visiting Hawaii, she just wanted to stay.