I Will No Longer Suffer in Silence! Telling Your Trauma Story

There are many reasons why people may feel the need to keep quiet about a traumatic experience. These reasons may include; shame, guilt, fear, and judgement. No matter the reason, keeping quiet about trauma may cause an individual to deteriorate internally and prevent them from their highest level of mental health. Why should we limit ourselves from living our life to the fullest due to constant fear of being open and honest about the trauma that we have experienced?

Women often express how they continuously avoid certain conversations, people, and events to prevent the possibility of having to relive a traumatic event. When talking about a traumatic event, it can trigger an individual to have flashbacks and it may elicit emotions that they worked to unconsciously suppress. Suppressing one’s memory of a traumatic event can only lead to more harm in the long run. Women must take power over their minds and fight against the negative attributes that they believe will or have come from traumatic experiences.

Speaking up about one’s trauma does not only help the traumatic event become less devastating to the victim, but it can also help others overcome their anxiety about opening up about their experiences, as well. Women in general need to stick together and make each other aware of traumatic situations that are often not discussed or are attached to a stigma. Being aware of how the trauma effects the livelihood of individuals may help the healing process for others in that they will understand that their experience is a part of their healing journey. I stand with women across the world in saying, Let’s break the silence and become resilient women who have gained empowerment over our situations and turn tragedy to victory by helping other women become stronger!

~Kiara Baldwin