Can't sleep after a traumatic experience?

Sridhar Rajendran - Stress, Anxiety, Burnout Coach

My name is Sridhar Rajendran and I help people who constantly struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep to get a good night’s sleep.  I have struggled with insomnia myself and know how painful it can be. That's why I like to get to the root cause of what's keeping someone awake and fix it quickly so you can go back to enjoying your life again.  Book a free strategy call and let's chat.  https://calendly.com/sridhar-coach/intro-call   #sleeptips #sleephelp #sleepingtips #sleepexpert #sleephealth #sleepcoach

Transcript

00:00Being unable to sleep well after a traumatic experience is a common response.

00:06So, when I mean by trauma, it could be of two types, one is accident and second is abuse.

00:13By accident, it could be something physical.

00:16Maybe you tripped and you fell and you had a fracture or you were driving and you met with an accident.

00:24So, initially in the accident phase, because of the physical discomfort itself,

00:29the sleep gets disturbed, but even after the body heals,

00:34the mind still takes time to process the incident itself which happens.

00:39Questions like, why did this happen to me? I could have driven better.

00:43Maybe if I had started a few minutes later, why was I in such a hurry?

00:47All these kinds of questions can keep on going on and on in your mind

00:52if you do not address them, impeding your sleep.

00:55And the other thing is, sometimes people who have suffered pain or chronic pain tend to hold on to it.

01:01They are always scared. Will this pain come back?

01:04If I sleep on my left side, will I have pain? Can I sleep in this cushion?

01:08Are these pillows enough? Are these cushions enough?

01:11Yes, it is important to take care of your sleeping posture, sleep hygiene and everything,

01:16but your mind is kind of still stuck in that fight or flight reflex mode

01:22and you need to work on that.

01:25And the best way to work on that is again through either journaling or through therapy to process those emotions.

01:32Yes, this happened. I accept it, but I also move on.

01:36Again, this sounds easier said than done.

01:38For some people, it happens very fast and very quickly.

01:42But regardless, with sufficient time and perseverance, it is possible for all of us.

01:47It's only about figuring out the best way that works for you.

01:52The second traumatic experience could be abuse.

01:56This could be kind of physical abuse, sexual abuse,

01:59somebody hitting you as a child or somebody molesting you either as a child or as a grown-up

02:08could be a very traumatic experience.

02:10It is quite unfortunate that if you have had to go through such a thing.

02:15These kinds of experiences leave a much deeper scar than the accident ones

02:20because here it was not just your body which was violated,

02:23but your mind and your emotions were also violated.

02:27Typically, people who suffer from childhood abuse and childhood trauma

02:33tend to have a host of mental health and physical health issues

02:38because of the varied experiences and the difficulties that they have gone through.

02:44So it is very important to work with a counselor to identify what are the issues.

02:51Is it PTSD? Is it depression? Is it anxiety?

02:55What are your triggers? What kind of brings up those events?

02:59And especially if you have moved on from that environment where the abuse happened,

03:05you're no longer living with that person and still that keeps happening.

03:10And it does tend to happen because it tends to leave a deeper impact on our mind.

03:19So you need to find the right method, right therapy, right counselor

03:25so that you are able to process those emotions in a healthy manner.

03:29Again, it might take a different timeline for each person,

03:35but please keep at it and you will make it through this too.

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