Stop - Just Stop it right now

"Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm; when we look at each other, we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike."

Quote by: Maya Angelou

My name is Lizzy, and I am a survivor of childhood abuse and trauma. I write extensively about what it feels like to live with the memories of traumatic events. 

The world needs to know what it feels like to be a trauma survivor, so people can provide support. If people knew what traumatic events do to an individual's mind, body and spirit, there would be no conflicts.

Do you know someone who is going through a tough time right now? 

Do you pause to help them? Do you ask how they are feeling?

Maybe you're the one going through a tough time? Do you wish someone helped you feel better?

Our world is hurting, and we are surrounded by traumatic events. There's too much suffering from conflicts at home, and wars around the world. 

Everything we know seems to disintegrate before us. It's all too much.

We need to come together, and draw strength from each other during this time. We need people in our lives because we cannot go at it alone.

Not anymore. Enough is enough.

Take a beat and breathe. Do you have tension in your body like your neck and shoulders? 

Many of us carry stress in our bodies and don't even know it.

There are so many of us who are affected by trauma and living with harrowing memories every day. 

Survivors go through life like everyone else. There are no special passes for us when life throws a curveball, and we must face whatever we encounter head-on. 

Most of the time we try and shy away from problems or arguments because they are painful reminders of a past we want to forget. We all have our limits of what we can handle, and that list is usually extensive. Trust me, my list is long.

There are times when we need to acknowledge that enough is enough. Things cannot go on as they are because the cost is too great.

Have you ever felt like you were stuck in an impossible situation, like the feeling of being between a rock and a hard place?

There is no way you can win, and the only way out is to take a gamble, and risk losing yourself a little along the way. 

You're hurting, but you won't help yourself out of it because of… well, reasons. There are always reasons and excuses, and excuses on top of those excuses. 

Why don't we stand up for ourselves in these situations? I know I'm not alone.

What do you do?

How do you handle it?

Who do you turn to when life knocks you down?

Our emotions will find a way to get past being ignored. There is no such thing as bad emotions. All feelings are our natural way of dealing with stress in our lives. 

Listen to your body. What is it telling you right now? What do you need?

Survivor who live with Complex PTSD, feel emotional stress deeper than others. I can only liken this feeling to someone who has had a disturbing nightmare, and is feeling rough and raw the next day. 

This is how some survivors feel all the time.

Emotionally raw.

We ignore our feelings and carry on as if they do not matter. Then something happens during the day that jolts us, and that dam breaks. We go into an emotional overwhelm where the stressors have pushed us too far that day.

This happens more and more right now. I see it in my friends, my colleagues, and people around me. 

When I was younger and had no family, I could hit the gym and run or swim the stress away until it was out of my system. 

It's harder to do that when you have responsibilities like work and kids, but emotional overwhelm doesn't stop. It carries on firing at us like a machine gun, firing pencils at us. 

We feel each shot, but we shrug them off, until that one shot, that we cannot ignore. Our reaction is usually extreme. When I start reacting, I cannot stop. It doesn't always happen when I'm at home. I have these emotional overwhelms with my friends, and even at work too. 

Sometimes, life just gets overwhelming.

I wish I could tell you that everything will be okay, and that a magic beam will take that pain away, but life doesn't work that way. Those pencils will keep firing at you, until you build a shield of resilience. 

You've got to believe in yourself and know that you have already gone through so much. You are still here, and you can handle whatever it is that brings you down.

Hold your head up high and trust in your abilities to get through the day.

You deserve to live a good life. If that life decides to throw you lemons, then take a step back and make lemonade with what you have got. Then, move on in a different direction. 

Trust in yourself and believe that the sun will rise and bring with it your next step. 

My name is Lizzy. I'm a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher and an author.

For more about me: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

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