Often, traumatic experiences have a great impact on our sense of self, self-worth, trust in ourselves, and even trust in others. Following a traumatic event, it’s common to start believing negative things about ourselves, such as taking undue blame, adopting negative self-talk, developing mistrust, and questioning our own identity. With time and support, you can regain your confidence and increase your self-worth.

How Trauma is Connected to the Brain

Traumatic experiences can interrupt one’s sense of safety and belonging, causing them to develop adaptive survival skills to navigate unpredictable environments and encounters. The adaptive survival skills that once served as a protective role during traumatic experiences can eventually become detrimental to your emotional and psychological well-being.

Trauma can also trigger the brain’s fight, flight, or freeze response. During this time, the part of your brain responsible for processing emotions links memories of the traumatic event with strong emotional reactions. The fight response occurs when individuals react to a traumatic event by physically struggling, fighting, or verbally resisting with “no”. The freeze response involves feeling paralyzed by the trauma, while the flight response is physically escaping the traumatic situation through running or distancing oneself.

There are also times individuals attempt to make sense of traumatic events, survivors may start to blame themselves. They might believe they are responsible for the event or for surviving when others did not. Guilt, blame, and shame can consequently alter one’s self-opinions and beliefs.

Understanding How Trauma is Connected to Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is how we value and perceive ourselves, shaped by our opinions and beliefs about who we are. High self-esteem is defined by individuals who recognize their worth, strengths, and abilities. While low self-esteem involves a negative self-perception, marked by self-doubt, excessive self-criticism, and difficulty acknowledging one’s strengths or achievements. Low self-esteem is often a result of trauma, as the negative self-perceptions and emotional wounds from such experiences can deeply impact how individuals view themselves and their worth.

Past trauma can significantly influence one’s perception of self, which contributes to the development of low self-esteem. Traumatic experiences often bring up negative core beliefs about self, such as feeling unlovable or inadequate. These beliefs can instill and trigger low self-esteem. Even though the traumatic event is not the survivors fault, struggling with shame, mistrust and guilt is common and can lead to having a negative self-image. Difficulty with trust can impede the development of meaningful connections, leading to further isolation and playing a part to low self-esteem.

Healing After Trauma

Assistance from a mental health professional can offer a safe and supportive environment where individuals can confront and process their traumatic experiences. Mental health professionals with a trauma-informed approach can create a tailored treatment plan to meet the needs of individuals who have experienced trauma. You can start to unravel the emotional and cognitive complexities connected to past traumas. Due to trauma often leading individuals to adopt negative beliefs working collaboratively to reframe core beliefs that come from past trauma.

When addressing trauma, professionals recognize the survivor’s strengths and help individuals recognize their potential for self-compassion. Living through trauma can be challenging and requires the use of effective coping strategies. Mental health professionals can introduce coping skills to help manage the mental and emotional difficulties through the healing process.

Reach Out

Trauma and self-esteem are greatly interconnected and traumatic experiences can profoundly affect how individuals perceive themselves and their self-worth. One can be hopeful for change, growth and regain control. With professional help, individuals can gain support in processing their trauma, increasing their self-worth, and developing healthier coping skills. Therapy can provide a path to healing and ability to overcome the negative impacts of trauma.

Don’t hesitate to reach out and consider getting started with a therapist today!