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"Trauma is anything less than nurturing that changes your vision of yourself and your place in the world" - Michelle Rosenthal Traumatic events can involve single experiences or repeating events that completely overwhelm us to the point where we're unable to cope. I don't think anyone is immune to trauma. Maybe some people just find ways to deal with it better than others. I found this super helpful article that talks about trauma and its effects, and it shares self help tips for those dealing with trauma or traumatic experiences. It also touches on when you should seek professional help, or how you can help a loved one or someone close to you overcome trauma. Read it here https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/coping-with-emotional-and-psychological-trauma.htm I'm grateful to have this safe space on happiness.com where I can reach out and connect with others going through similar experiences to facilitate our healing processes together.

Practice this every morning & before going to sleep. Have seen massive changes in my own mindset & it is reflected back in my life. All our power is within us what we think we become, as our thoughts go out into the universe and are then returned to us in our life's circumstances. Therefore we attract what we think, so if your thinking is negative and unloving. Then the universe will reflect that in your day to day life to reinforce your thinking. So by practicing Gratitude for all you have even when times are hard your life slowly gets better.It can be small changes like dealing with situations differently rather than using ingrained behaviours that don't serve our greater good. Find myself smiling a lot more now seem to be going through a spiritual awakening which has been going on for about a year now. Made changes to remove toxic people from my life & have removed myself from situations where I do not feel valued i.e work. When you acknowledge you deserve abundance then it becomes more difficult to accept certain people or situations the way you used to. I'm not saying this is easy because it is not & can be heartbreaking to remove people whom you care about because you realize they are toxic for you. shed many many tears throughout this process and probably have more to shed, but I feel empowered & confident that I will now achieve everything I want to through this. I will no longer accept a crap life because I deserve better therefore every day I affirm this to myself which I believe I will manifest into my reality.I should add that doing this half heartedly probably won't work you must believe in it totally because we cannot reprogram our brain or fool our subconscious into this if we then resort back to old negative coping skills. You will still have bad days, but it's about shifting your perspective in relation to life's problems. I try seeing them as a Glitch & when negative thoughts enter my head I replace them with a loving or happy thought that way I reduce their power over me. Still got a long way to go with this but enjoying it. Truly believe 2020 is going to be the best year for me when all my manifesting starts appearing in my reality. Love & Light to you & don't give up it's probably one of the kindest most loving things we can do for ourselves. We all need healing from past traumas or hurts & when we heal we become closer connected to our own divine self& it's awesome hope this help. ??

As @ShareeBelshaw already pointed out, the MBSR course can help loads with rumination and negative self-talk. So great to hear someone talk about the program and recommend it with the same enthusiasm as I do. Thank you! I know this from my own experience and the amazing effect it had in hindsight in my own life motivated to become an MBSR trainer myself. However, if you are going through a strong depressive episode looking more intensively at your thoughts might not be advised. Even if you are managing your depression reasonably well at the moment, you should talk to your therapist before you join the program. Also, speak to friends and family about it, and always remember "you are the expert for yourself". We usually know if we are lazy and our thoughts want to talk us into not going to the gym or going to the gym really hurts our knees or spine. It's similar with this there is some inner resistance we need to overcome to get our meditation and mindfulness practise going, but that's different to actually hurt ourselfs. We usually know which one is which. Besides that welcome! I think talking about depression and mental health, sharing our stories and struggles and most importantly realizing we are not alone with what we are going through might be one of the most powerful steps to acceptance and from there to change.

I agree with jojo. When I split from my now ex husband I wasn't upset though I went through a dark period after which was grieving for the loss of my marriage. My marriage however left me mentally and emotionally scarred and it's now been 5 years since we split, but it's only been the last year that it's all fallen in to place. I allowed my self to go on a spiritual journey and meditated and practiced yoga everyday. I read up on different spiritual groups and found a way that spirituality worked for me as I don't do organised religion. I only wish I had started it sooner. The only way you will be happy is to give yourself as much time as you need to rediscover yourself, find what works for your soul and spirit and it will fall into place. I'm now a totally different person and better for it. I hope you find your happiness soon.

Welcome to the happiness community, Shirley! I wish you all the very best on your journey on self-love and inner peace. Remember to be ever so gentle with yourself and take it one day at a time. ✨?

Hi, I fell across this site via an ad on Facebook. I like the connectivity of Facebook and also realise that it is a part of the big corporate structure that tends towards dehumanising us. I hope this site has the potenial to offer an alternative to that approach. I practise mediatation on a daily basis and have been fascinated by Taoism since I was a teenager... some time ago. I live in Newcastle in North East England and love the vibe and the people here... that's why I choose to live here... and have many close connections with people I love here. I enjoy sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings and often do that by writing most days... I also work with others around ideas of what it is that makes us... this... and how we can build on becoming the person we wish to be rather than the person we felt we were expected to be by others. I was always a curious and daring youngster and determined to work out how the world worked for myself... that led me into a few precarious places and I often mistook fun and freedom for unsustainable harmful behaviours... after reading much and then practicing yoga in my mid twenties I started to see that a meaningful and fulfilling life was accessable through tapping into some of the oldest wisdoms. These days I find that I get most from life without the need for external stimulants and distractions... my physical and spirtual practice keeps my happy, open and well... thisness for me is what life is about... self awareness and the ability to grow each day. Anyway, that is how I ended up here today and I look forwards to making new connections with people I have yet to meet... here. Best wishes and namaste, Mark This.

Yesterday day 3- practiced mindfulness and pleasant event while in hot tub yesterday, shower, with my spiritual practice being in body. Really brought so much joy into my life yesterday and the day flew by! day 4 (week two) MBS practice- I love the feelings of creating so much space that it feels my body does not exist! Had a hard time “focusing” for the first while but eventually I noticed that I rigged and brought self back to body! Magical

I am the Queen of procrastination...mine generally comes from self doubt and constantly questioning myself. I love what Julius says about pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone - something as simple as a cold shower I will be trying ! I find when I'm working from home and have a lot of "alone" time I procrastinate but if I'm working or collaborating with others I tend to feed off the combined energy and get things done x

Day three- being kind to self in meditation practices, relieving any tension I am finding.

Day two of week two I am creating space within every time I practice, and I feel so light during and after! One of my biggest realizations during my practice today was that my nose was itchy and I did not want to give attention to it. Kindly I thanked myself for noticing this and chose to scratch my nose. I then told self that was very mindful, as compared to day to day life—— how many times do we scratch ourselves perhaps and not even know we are itchy or that we scratched ourself!! ?

Day 3: Didn’t leave my bed until I did the MBS by JKZ. I know doing these first thing in the morning are beneficial to my mind and body, and evidentially I was most present today out of the past 3 days likely because I did it first thing in AM, not mid day. Some wandering thoughts about what I could make for dinner, a couple thoughts of work, but they did not last long, was able to notice them and bring self back to body and breathe. K

Hi all, I am on week one of MBSR course. I just completed first MBS. I have done these in the past but never for 30 minutes. Actually my journey to within, back to self and body began in January this year when I really committed to doing a MBS daily. I did it for three months and then began practising other ways of going within with less video voice guidance and did quick mental MBS when needed ( when wanting to be responsive to environment instead of relative). Found it difficult to stay focused for the 30 minutes today. Dog snoring beside me, thoughts of helping others came up mainly while feeling into stomach area ( interesting alignment with chakras...) and I just had surgery so overall lots of discomfort in body. I also did this laying down due to recent surgery and struggle with that as I generally do this practice seated. I will comment again when week one is done and See the differences for me. K

In my 20s and 30s I used to be someone that tried to cram as much as possible into my day: I'd feel guilty if I didn't squeeze those 24 hours dry! ? More recently I've felt the desire to slow things down and simplify my life: if I can't do something, no worries, it can wait. I've learnt to savour moments through living a quieter and simpler life. I researched this more for an article for the magazine and have found that there are many benefits to living a simple life. City life can be exciting, but I've realised I'm happier in a quieter city without noise and distractions, or out in the countryside walking in nature or being by the sea. I've also decided to reduce my consumption as part of living a more simpler life. I've never been one to have the latest iPhone model, but I've reduced clothes shopping, especially after seeing how much pollution the textile industry causes. All in all, I feel that my simpler life is bringing me more happiness. Part of me has even been thinking of simplifying things further and looking for a quiet place to live in the countryside with some self-sustainability (maybe not just yet LOL). I'd love to know if anyone has done something similar and how it went. I imagine it could be hard work also. Also what else have other people done to simplify their lives and how has it affected them? ?

oooo me please i suffer with fibro and was given duloxetine and painkillers an iv just taken my self of the duloxetine and am looking for a more holistic way to heal

Yes, I think finding YOUR prefered time and place is essential and personal. It changes over time too, depending on your daily routines, the time of year. Even if you have found your time and place the experience during the meditation will vary from day to day. Having said that I would recommend doing the meditation as the first thing in the morning for a while. It allows you to be fresh and concentrated without the many things that accumulate during the day that you should do instead of meditating. It also gives you a sense of achievement - you start the day already having done something for yourself. In the evening, most of us are tired, and due to that the meditation becomes more of a relaxation session, then the mental exercise at least the mindfulness meditation is supposed to be. Then again, a relaxing meditation before bed to wrap up the day and calm the mind is a form of self-care too. You are the expert of yourself, so it's up to your judgement what is needed. Be open, keep experimenting. Personally for me the sentence "If I do not have the time to meditate I need it most" sums up what I have to look out for. I see meditating a bit like physical exercise: If it doesn't take effort, it won't have that much of an effect. So I try to choose a bit of a challenge when selecting the time and kind of meditation.

Not fully, but I am nowhere near where I was 5 months ago. Getting over heartbreak (which is what happens when we separate/divorce etc from someone we love) is a process that takes time and A LOT of self-compassion. I know that you probably won't agree with me right now, but this hurt will pass! It really will...

Hello Candy, Thanks for your message, lovely to 'meet' you too! I enjoy reading mostly fiction, anything with a good story, and recently have been reading self help books too. I do kundalini yoga, have been going to a small local class for several years, and recently have been increasing my meditation/mindfulness. Music is also important to me, I listen to a lot and sing/dance along whenever I can! looking forward to getting to know more like minded people here :)

Gosh that sounds like me! Starting out on a journey of self discovery, wondering what the universe has in store for us. Experiencing mindfulness, meditation, reiki and seeing Echartt Tolle has made me keen to learn more. I too overthink, worry to much and an slowing learning that I'm not going mad!

Haha just joking!! I'm new to most of this. I never thought a year ago I'd be going through any of this or "digging" so deep into myself. I never really even knew how far apart from my soul I was until my awakening was triggered. It's been very intense, confusing and lonely. Recent life changes I have felt compelled to make out of what seems like nowhere (as people who have "known me" would probably put it) have made me feel like I'm going crazy. After lots of research, coaching and self work I finally know I'm not completly crazy lol. I have also found that I am not alone which is wonderful news! I've never opened my mind to this type of stuff before and the onset of everything seemed out of nowhere. Now im trying to just go with the flow and see where the universe is trying to guide me. That's not too easy for a person like me who has had a habits of overthinking and questioning everything in life. Trust and faith has never come easy to me in my life...and now here I am. I am pleased to have found this community and nice to meet you all and hopefully many others to come ??

Hi Alison and Joyce! Welcome to the happiness community! What do you both like reading? I read pretty much anything I find interesting, from self-help books to semi-romantic novels (sometimes ?). I really like yoga too, but I don't always make time to go, and music is a thing I can't live without. Happy to 'meet' you both. ?

Hey Kat, seems like you've been doing a lot of self-work which can only be a good thing. It's funny, I've seen a few people write similar messages, had an awakening and then feeling a bit crazy with it or that no one understands. So I am sure here you will be able to find like-minded people to connect with. The forums are a good place to start. Welcome to the site! x

I agree self care is so important daily, its hard sometimes I feel guilty with a never ending to do list . But I find slowing down is helping me feel so much better about myself. There is no rush to get chores done they will always be there. I find breaking up my day. Working in small chunks so helpful. Then I will relax with a good book, a puzzle , gardening, or going for a bike ride in nature, listening to uplifting music. Helps me recharge Instead of adding to your to do list, journal about all the things you've accomplished . Will make you see progress you've made and make you feel like your day has purpose and that you have achieved something no matter how low you are.

Hi abbee, i love kundalini yoga its my favourite. Id love to try make friends with more like minded friends my self as i dont really have many that follow my spiritual path. Love and light ? ? ? ? ? ♥️

We harvest from the fruit trees in the garden and make jams, chutneys, cakes and such. We also make kimchi and sauerkraut ourselves. Where we can we avoid plastic, processed food and buy seasonal and regional. We also agreed not to buy anything new for the house if it can be bought 2nd hand or self-build, upcycled with things we already have. This takes longer but in the end it's much more fun. I am trying to do the same thing with clothes. This year so far I've spend 168€ on new clothes. I am using a mooncup instead of pads or tampons, which creates zero waste. In addition, we don't buy anything we already have in a nicer/ trendier version. This way we are stuck with the old "uncool" stuff but that's still better than throwing that out and buying something more eco. Once I started being more aware of reducing, recycling, reusing, I realised that I have everything already. The idea of "enough" seems to be so radical in an economy where consumption is key. The only thing I am short of regularly now is time. ?

I read some stuff suggesting the same idea. According to those "articles" it pushes you to think mor analytical etc as Calvin explained better. I don't know if I believe that either. What I understood was it basically activates your survival mode actually but I'm not really sure if those suggestions are really interpreted well from scientific studies or just some clickbaits cycling on internet. I would say there's a "good" side of depression which you learn things about yourself and self control but in general I can't see it as a gift for real and the most obvious effect I feel is overthinking instead of turning into a big analytic thinker-problem solver.