 Trauma, and its aftermath, have a huge impact on every part of our lives. Healing from trauma can lead to a lot of positive growth, self-awareness, and increased resilience. But, of course, it can also impact us in a lot of negative ways that we may not even be aware of. Trauma comes in many forms, from emotional to physical to psychological. Simply put, a traumatic experience can refer to any situation that evokes an intense, overwhelming, and long-lasting sense of fear, anxiety, and stress. If left unresolved, this trauma can manifest in a lot of negative ways. With that said, here are seven signs that you're not a bad person, it's your trauma. Number one, you're always looking for the first sign of trouble. Has anyone ever told you that you're too much of a negative thinker? Are you usually the first to give up when things get tough? Do you find it difficult to forgive and forget when someone else wrongs you? If you said yes to any of these things, don't be so quick to blame yourself. These are actually all common responses to trauma. There are even studies that show how trauma makes it more difficult for us to be optimistic. Because experience has taught us to always keep an eye out for the first sign of trouble. Number two, you have a hard time trusting others. Similar to the previous point, many trauma survivors also struggle to trust and get close to others, even their loved ones. Trauma makes them more emotionally distant and closed off and more suspicious of everyone's motives and intentions. They tend to overthink and hyperfixate every little thing someone else says or does. Because of this, they also have a hard time asking for help from others or opening up to them about their true feelings. Number three, you socially withdraw sometimes. One of the most tell-tale warning signs that someone is still struggling with their trauma is if it starts to affect their interpersonal relationships and makes them socially withdraw at times. Have you found yourself always declining invitations or cancelling at the last minute? Do you never feel like spending time with your loved ones anymore or keeping in touch with them? Would you rather just be by yourself doing nothing, even though it doesn't make you happy? Don't beat yourself up for becoming more socially withdrawn and losing interest in your hobbies and relationships. It's likely an unfortunate effect of your trauma. Number four, you sabotage your own relationships. Have you ever found yourself getting close to someone and growing to love them, be it romantically or platonically, only to find that it makes you feel scared, unsettled or uncomfortable? Do you ever feel compelled to just run away or sabotage your own relationships, especially when things are going well? Although you may not be doing it consciously, you've likely internalized your past traumatic experiences, especially those that involve other people, so that you now expect every relationship of yours from now on to fail. And that's why you self-sabotage. Number five, you have unhealthy coping mechanisms. When people are struggling mentally and emotionally and don't know how to deal with it, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms instead. Some people start binge drinking and partying, while others turn to gambling and overspending. Others might oversleep to avoid their problems and feelings or overeat to make themselves feel better for a moment. Some resort to self-harm, self-neglect or putting themselves in danger. Whatever the unhealthy coping mechanism might be, the bottom line is that it likely stems from you looking for a way to grapple with your trauma. Number six, you're emotionally repressed and distant. Following a traumatic event, most people tend to feel vulnerable, afraid, ashamed, confused, violated or even hopeless. So when we're not ready to confront our feelings yet, we often end up burying them instead. But once you start, it can be hard to stop, especially when you haven't fully dealt with or processed your trauma. So if you notice you've become more emotionally repressed and distant ever since the trauma, this is likely why. And number seven, you can't control your emotions. Another sign that someone is still struggling with the fallout of their trauma is that they can't control their emotions. Opposite to our earlier point, some people may feel too emotionally overwhelmed to turn off their feelings and thus will often be angry, irritable, and have frequent mood swings and temper tantrums. They might cry a lot more than they used to or start taking their frustrations out on those around them. Either way, these are all clear signs of lingering psychological trauma. Before you blame yourself, take some time to heal and understand first. Show yourself some compassion before you call yourself a bad person. Do you relate to any of the things we've mentioned here? If you still have some unhealed trauma that's hurting you, please don't hesitate to reach out to a mental health care professional today and get help. You can heal and it can get better. What's your personal experience with trauma and recovering from it? Talk about it in the comments below. We love hearing your stories. I talk about this a lot on my personal channel. The links in the description. Feel free to come over and visit. Share with a friend if you think this video was helpful. Don't forget to leave a like as well. As usual, all references used are in the description below. Until next time. I make soothing music. I do little vlogs. I've tried to make a very open, honest, authentic space. A calming space where we can relax and be honest about how crazy it is to exist on this planet. The beauty, the trials, the tribulations, the trauma, the healing. All of that. I am an open book and an open heart over there and over here. Always, always. I would love to see you over there soon. Or later. Sooner or later. Anytime is the right time. Take care of yourselves. Love you. See you soon.