How to Write about Trauma without Traumatizing Yourself
Most of us grew up with, at the very least, a less-than-nurturing environment or experiences, or adult situations that can cause reactions as potentially writers’ block-inducing as the trauma itself. It all comes down to the degree to which you can’t write. And if you are in a position where you can’t write, you can’t write.
I stumbled into a way to write about trauma without re-traumatizing myself: I did it by journaling about trauma for several years without intending to publish. At that point, I was working as a journalist and had written several very bad short stories. A novel wasn’t in my consciousness. By the time it occurred to me take my experiences from living in Asia for three years and blend them into a novel concerning what I knew about healing from sexual trauma, I was fairly-well shed of the repercussions of the trauma itself.
When you take on to write about trauma, a good way to broach it is by writing five minutes a day. That’s all. Five minutes a day. Your five doesn’t have to happen at the same time each day, or in the same place—though that structure helps with consistency. Simply ask yourself to write for five minutes a day. The time you spend writing will grow.
Despite our best intentions, and our deepest wishes, writing about trauma can still retraumatize us. At this point, my sense is that the best thing to do would be to stop writing the piece and use your five-plus minutes for journaling without the expectation that your journal entries will be something you try to publish. Just journal. If the PTSD feelings continues, it’s probably time to speak with a professional trained in trauma reduction. If that is not doable, financially, there are online and in-person groups that operate for free.
Here is where I will plug a 12-Step program. I have never met a trauma survivor that didn’t have at least one addictive-compulsive behavior. This is because a normal response to trauma is the rotating or simultaneous experience of addiction and/or compulsive behaviors, depression and/or anxiety, and constant physical pain.
As these symptoms of resolve, you will find yourself more and more able to write creatively about the trauma. I wish for all of you is that you find, in your own way, the contentment I am finding in mine. Never give up.
