Unprocessed trauma acts as an emotional abscess that must be brought into consciousness and processed to prevent it from damaging one's mental state.

“trauma is so common, and we shove trauma underneath the surface because of the guilt and shame that it generates, and then it stays in us like an abscess and spins off. Symptoms, they could be symptoms of diffidence, they could be symptoms of overusing a substance. They could be symptoms of avoiding”

Healing requires individuals to experience and process their painful emotions rather than suppressing them or projecting them onto others.

“If we just feel our own [ __ ] like we'll stop [ __ ] putting it on other people.”

Individuals must actively acknowledge their trauma and adopt a practice of repetition, such as affirmations, to navigate life's challenges and move forward.

“I believe that happens through practice and repetition. Right. Right. That is what that is what the faith is is practice and repetition. Right.”

Healing trauma is a journey of integrating practices, body-based work, and therapy to connect with one's authentic self, rather than a single event.

“as my therapist says healing's not at an event it's a journey it doesn't just like oh I have this awareness I feel good now that I released it it's like a constant integration of exercises and practices”

Dr. K argues that trauma is stored in the body and that pent-up reactions need to be processed to achieve healing.

“There's a lot of studies now that show that trauma is stored in the body. And I think that these reactions that you're having where you feel like your body wants to cry and your mind doesn't, like that's where like literally stuff is stored, is penned up. And I think it's got to come out.”

Elizabeth believes that the best way to move forward from trauma is to love oneself enough to release the past rather than letting it control one's life or consume one's energy.

“I think forgiveness is the greatest gift of self-love. It's loving yourself enough to put down the weight of your past. So, do I think is okay? No. I'll never be okay with it. Do I think kidnapping is okay? No. I'll never be okay with it. Do I think hurting a child is okay? No, I will never be okay ”

Healing from trauma requires individuals to stop holding onto their past wounds and to stop waiting for those who harmed them to offer an apology or change their own behavior.

“I don't want to keep my healing hostage waiting for the healing of those who harmed me”

Healing involves moving beyond the desire to fix or save others and instead setting personal boundaries.

“I was just, you know, constantly daydreaming about buying her a house and paying for everything, making her healed and spending time on the phone with her trying to teach her concepts and spiritual foundations. And I really had to give that up.”

He believes that individuals can consciously choose to end toxic relationships by acknowledging their situation and walking away, rather than by seeking retaliation.

“This isn't about retaliation. This isn't about me getting something back cuz you hurt me. You hurt me and I'm dealing with it. Right. And I'm dealing with it by being done with it.”

Victims can achieve personal empowerment and healing by practicing radical acceptance of their circumstances and choosing to approach even their abusers with compassion rather than embitterment.

“I have never felt more powerful in my life than when I sat across from him and was kind to him. And it didn't matter what he said or what he did because I showed up.”

Therapy is beneficial for everyone who has experienced trauma.

“I just don't want him to ever I don't ever want him to question his value because Dad's over here Mom you know I have no control over that I have no I I have a hard enough time controlling my own behavior to think that I can somehow form this kid into a little me is kind of H I don't know I've gotte”

John Fetterman encourages individuals struggling with depression to reach out for support and keep fighting to stay in the game.

“I'm begging you stay in that game I promise you it can get better and the the depression is lying to you it is absolutely lying to you”

Therapy is a necessary practice for maintaining mental health rather than just a reactive tool for handling crises.

“It's not something you just get into during tough moments, but something I rely upon to check myself and for ongoing support.”

Talking openly about one's experiences and seeking professional therapy is a vital step in shifting from a mindset of victimhood to viewing oneself as a survivor.

“I think it's so important to go through that work just to be able to redirect the narrative within yourself from being a victim to I see myself now as a survivor, like I survived something.”

The speaker believes that engaging in therapy is a necessary part of her recovery process.

“I was in therapy after it and then I was kind of not really liking my therapist and I was like I can do I can do it without therapy like he hasn't been helping yeah and I got it right and then it was just very like a dark time for me so I got back into therapy recently and it's been helping a lot mo”

EMDR therapy is a successful treatment for managing trauma responses and reducing aggressive outbursts.

“I do EMDR also and I it helps me with the trauma and my outbursts have gone to like nothing.”

Healing from trauma requires recalibrating the nervous system through body work and establishing new, secure human experiences rather than relying solely on cognitive insights.

“Instead, we have to recalibrate the nervous system through body work usually and then learn different experience skills so you can have the skills you need to craft those experiences.”

He believes the stellate ganglion block procedure is a highly effective way to physiologically reset the nervous system for trauma survivors.

“I was so blown away by how it transformed my life. uh um that yeah I ended up writing a book with the guy that discovered it to bring it to the living room because you can get an overactive sympathetic nervous system and hypervigilance, hyperarousal, reactivity, ideiation, lack of sleep, all these t”

Jiu-jitsu serves as a valuable tool for mental, physical, and social recovery because it forces practitioners to remain mentally present.

“And when I got on those mats, I felt like I found a cure because you you can't you can't think about Afghanistan or, you know, other stuff I'm doing while you're grappling. You got to be mentally present.”

Practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu and intentionally focusing on loved ones helped him move forward from a traumatic past.

“I focus on the things I love. Like I love my daughter. I love my friends. I love jiu-jitsu. I love, you know, snowboarding. I love pickle ball.”