If you have lived through some sort of trauma and have retreated from reality a bit, or a lot, there are things you can do to help you get your life back. You are probably going to need the help of family and friends, and it would be a good idea to seek out a counselor experienced with trauma and disassociation therapy. Talk with the therapist, and ask him or her to meet with your loved ones to explain some of the changes you will need to make and how they can help. Here are some of the things that should be talked about.

Validate Your Experience

What may have been extremely traumatic to you may not be a big deal to someone else. It is important that even though others would handle things differently, they at least understand that the experience was very traumatic to you and accept that. Those you are comfortable enough with to share this information with with need to listen, just listen, and not try to fix things for you. A counselor is helpful here in explaining to your loved ones to listen and accept that something has changed you. Only then will you be able to start to take back control.

Take Back Control

Whether it was the trauma itself or how you felt afterward, somewhere along the line you lost control of yourself and your life. One of the first things you will need to control is the healing process. Working with a counselor will help to keep you on track of regaining this control. Your family and friends need to understand that you are not trying to be mean or negate anything they are trying to do for you and that this is something you need to do for yourself. Then you can start to take control back for other aspects of your life, including your daily activities and social events. This can be hard on those who are just trying to help you, so it is important they understand what is happening.

Reconnect with Yourself and Loved Ones

After you have taken back control, even some of it, you should start to reconnect with your life. You need to be able to see yourself as you want to be, and so does everyone else. It is time to come out of your cave and not allow yourself to be, or be seen as, a victim. While you may never completely get over what happened, you will slowly begin to get past it.

Trauma and disassociation are never going to be the same for any two people. You need to take the time to heal and work things out for yourself. Working with a counselor, such as one at Counseling  Svcs Of Beaverton, is a good place to start.