The Church and Healing From Childhood Trauma
Where is the church in America while some of its members sit in pews and seats every week during worship services struggling with the effects of childhood trauma? Is there much hope for survivors of childhood trauma to find real help in the churches in this country? It is my experience as a survivor that most help deals only with the emotional aspects of damage from trauma and not the damage that is done to the brain. But if I’m honest, there is little in the way of help for the emotional damage and the Church offers little to no help for healing childhood trauma.
We are an overlooked group of silent sufferers who plaster smiles on our faces every week at church. We attend mid-week Bible studies, help with ministries at the church while enduring intense anxiety and depression. We are told to have more faith. We are told to just “give it to God.” We desperately want out of the hell hole our brains have caused. We need help.
The Church can help childhood trauma survivors
The good news is that there are ways to retrain our brains. Through this newsletter, I am presenting the ways that I have found to alleviate my PTSD symptoms. I desire that an army of us who move from survivors to overcomers will rise up in the Church and share hope and help with those who are in desperate need of both. When Christians who have not experienced childhood trauma begin to understand the effects of trauma on the brain, they will become advocates for those who have survived.
What will it take for the Church as a whole to be an advocate for childhood trauma survivors? I believe it will take enough of us moving from survivors to thrivers. As we overcome the effects of trauma on our brains, we can educate our fellow Christians about childhood trauma in adults. We can provide what survivors need for healing childhood trauma. We live in the age of social media and we can leverage the power of social media to inform. The choice is ours to make whether we help or hurt those who hurt the most among us.
Pray with me:
Oh Lord, I cry out for You to give me the strength to do the hard work or recovery. As I do, and as I find enough relief for symptoms of PTSD, use me to teach others about the effects of childhood trauma on adult survivors. May I be part of the army of survivors.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
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