Hi Asi,

I'm so sorry to hear what happened to your father. I can see how that would have had a huge impact on you.

Fearing worst case scenarios is a common trauma response and it is also common for people who struggle with anxiety. I recommend checking out Session 3 of the Anxiety course. Specifically, the questions to challenge anxiety are very helpful when trying not to focus on worst case scenarios. I recommend having these questions close by so you can use them whenever you need them.

Thanks for posting!

Ashley

Bump

How past trauma can impact depression and our thinking.

Has trauma effected your core beliefs? If so, you can work on them here. You are not what happened to you.

Ashley

Hi Ashley, that's really true. At age of 12 I witnessed my dad death. I wasnt there but I knew the details. He was beaten by a car on the road and was projected 30 metres on the road.

At early age me and my family learned the really bad things can suddenly happen. In our case we knew that's don't happen only to others.

This had impacted all my family, because when something wrong start to happen, our imagination a lot of times goes to the worst cenário possible, because that already happen to us in the past.

I think that's the example with all of us who experienced trauma, our mind start to built constantly the worsts cenários possible, and that make us leave with a lot of anxiety.

Trauma has had a huge impact on me. I have trouble trusting others and I tend to jump to worst case scenarios too quickly. I also can get angry more easily since the trauma. I did notice I have stopped shaking when I talk about some of my trauma. I think that is positive I guess. I think a core belief I have is, I cannot trust people. I need to work on this because logically I know I can trust some people. I often feel guilty when I say things directly. I need to work on this too as I am afraid of offending people all the time.

Hi SolarPlexus,

I am so sorry to read all the trauma you have experienced and how it is impacting you. Thank you for sharing that with us. I am sure writing that out was not easy. Coming to terms with how trauma has impacted you is a step towards healing. How do you ground yourself after thinking about your past trauma? How do you self sooth?

You are not in this alone.

Ashley

I have experienced considerable trauma over the last 4 years. Everything from my marriage ending and finding out it was all a lie, watching my father die who was the only person who was always there for me, having to deal with police and court because I wasn't believed, being abused by a nurse at the hospital when I was extremely ill, being treated poorly at work by a boss who promoted people for their looks not their work. All of these things have taken a toll on my self-confidence and my belief that I was safe. Everything I thought was in place to protect me failed. I have no faith in myself or society anymore. I struggle daily with my self-worth. My dreams are ridden with people trying to hurt me and society failing me. I use to be a self-confident, extremely social and happy person. I am a shell of my former self. I trust no one. I spend much of my time alone. I lack energy and I don't take care of myself properly. I am emotional, I cry a lot. I am depressed and wonder how much longer I have to be in this life. I am hypervigilant, worrying about when the next bad thing is going to happen to me.

Hi everyone,

Many people have gone through at least one traumatic event in their lives. I have heard many people say, ``well I don't have PTSD, so my trauma hasn't really impacted me.`` It is important to know that PTSD isn't the only problem trauma can cause. Trauma can also cause the development of negative core beliefs. For example, a woman who was in an abusive relationship may start to think, ``I deserve the bad things that happen to me.` Or ``No one is trustworthy.` or ``I will never be happy``. Another example could be someone who witnessed a tragic accident could start to believe, `the world is a dangerous place` or `something bad will happen to me if I leave the house.` You can see how these beliefs can greatly impact your mood and your ability to lead a fulfilling life.

How has trauma impacted you? Are you able to pin point any negative core beliefs that may have developed due to past trauma? Please share your thoughts here. For more information on Core Beliefs please take a look at session 8 of the Depression Program.

Ashley