Is It True That A Trauma Victim Can Completely Let It Go?

[MainerMikeBrown]

I certainly hope it's possible for people to be able to completely move on with their lives after experiencing one or more traumatic events that occured in their past. But I wonder if it is.

Some people say they've totally let it go. And they appear to have done so. However, I wonder if they've have like they say, or whether they've only partially moved on.

I think part of the answer to this question depends on how a person defines moving on. If you define it as being able to live a happy, productive life after the trauma that occured, then I think you can move on. But if you define moving on as being able to remember what happened and not have it bother you or affect you psychologically in any other way, well, I'm not so sure.

However, I do strongly believe that even if nobody can get over it completely, people can make a lot of progress in letting go of what happened while in psychotherapy with the help of a competent therapist.

[averiguar]

I always use the analogy that trauma was like a boil in my psyche. Once I lanced it, and drained the pus, it no longer has any emotional charge to poison me anymore. I used to have panic attacks really bad from having been sexually molested when I was nine years old. So, I can lay claim to the fact that you can, indeed overcome trauma in more than just a superficial way. It took a lot of inner emotional work and some reading and panic and psychologists and more panic and etc., but once I did my self-work, it healed me over the span of about a 2 year period. -Wasn't easy by any means, but there you have it :)

[dazza]

Forwells hits the nail smack on it's head, once again.

^ A wise man

I cannot say I've been through any such trauma - because I haven't.
My childhood was perfect really and nothing particularly bad has happened since.

I reckon your inherent strength of character has an awful lot to do with it, too. Some people NEVER or can't recover (e.g. some war veterens)

Somehow, that feeling of WANTING to recover and finding the strength to do whatever it takes TO recover is paramount.
Some would rather just wallow forever, whereas the stronger characters will likely pull through... somehow, through the darkness, finding the logic that says "you will get better as long as you do this / that and the other" - and following that advice.

Trauma leaves your system in shock. A shock that often has a long, lasting impact and imprint on your brain.
It takes some mind mending to discover that life still goes on, despite what happened in the past.