To study emotional trauma is to examine the human decisions which are based upon our painful thoughts and memories. How decisions are made will determine how well we weather the storm of emotional trauma. We can decide to allow the emotions to consume our lives, or we can forge a new path through the pain.

A decision is often the result of several years, if not decades of human experience. A conclusion based upon inner thoughts and emotions can perpetuate them. It's important to examine the basis of a decision and decipher whether it comes from concrete facts, or, if it's based upon emotions (which can distort thinking). Deciding that there has been suffering, therefore there will be more, represents a thinking process that should be flagged, examined, and overcome. The fact that there has been suffering doesn't mean there will be more, just as rolling a seven doesn't increase the chances of rolling it the next time. Emotional trauma doesn't have to be forever if the decision is made to analyze it, find its source, and create new ways of seeing it.

I examined myself and was able to trace the trail of my thoughts and emotions, unraveling the basis of my thoughts and decisions. This allowed me to think differently about the emotional trauma. You can too. In chapter one I wrote: "...This allowed my thoughts to become a choice, regardless of the mental pictures, images, and feelings echoing from the past..."

The above is very important in the world. We must analyze the way people think and make decisions. A friend may feel resentment when we don't listen to them, and be patient for years, only to lash out unexpectedly. Sometimes actions take years to take root, but the wise will anticipate the decisions before they're made, and proceed thoughtfully. To overcome emotional trauma is to become tuned in to what leads to actions and decisions, for as the anatomy of our bodies are the same, so is the logic of our thoughts!

Improve yourself, improve the world!

Emotional trauma causes mental images and feelings to intrude in our lives and influence our thoughts. When I was overcoming emotional trauma, I learned to identify the images and feelings in my mind. I had lots of them. Identifying the images and feelings is beneficial because I got to know them, anticipate them, and prepare a response.

Familiarity with the images and feelings promotes emotional stability.

Point out the habitual response to an image or feeling and look for assumptions regarding it. For instance, the assumption that an image or feeling should be shunned needs to be replaced with the idea that it should be embraced and loved. You assume it's shameful to have the feelings and images and habitually avoid them when in fact they are an important and valuable (although painful) part of your life! The assumption is the enemy because it causes denial, and keeps you from yourself. In chapter one I wrote:
"...An assumption is like a person who moves into your house, taking it for granted that they have the right to tell you what to do..." Evaluate assumptions, reexamine the response to images and emotions, and see yourself grow as a person!

The above is very important not only in the mind, but also in the world. Prejudice is like emotional trauma in that a fixed thought (image) is cemented in the mind and accompanied by the assumption that it is the correct idea, erroneously controlling thoughts and feelings! Be careful about assumptions, because what you take for granted and overlook could be what's holding you back, not the enemy that "lurks in the shadows," or is "obvious," or the one that's been battled for years.

Improve yourself, improve the world!

The miracle inside my mind demonstrates just how far a human can go. It's like studying a species and discovering new behaviors and capabilities. They can jump that far? That high? They run that fast!

You can enter my room, and play in my expanded world! New doors have opened for humankind, and new possibilities. My world is a world that mental conditions are seen as something to be climbed, like a mountain. Overcoming mental problems is a sport, and once engaging in this sport it's meaningful and fun.

There is sadness to letting go of old habits, just like climbing a mountain and saying goodbye to the goal. But it's okay, because once overcoming yourself, you'll make better decisions and the world will benefit!

It's difficult to imagine that something terrible can become one of the most positive and important things in your life, but emotional trauma was for me. It allowed me to find out more about myself and therefore, other people.

Emotional trauma is like an unwanted visitor that expects to be treated like a special friend. It sits meekly, waiting for your response. You must realize that there is a difference between the experience and the wound. It's okay to hate the experience, but not the the emotional trauma. In chapter one I wrote:

"If you’ve been emotionally traumatized, sit down with your visitor. Talk with your visitor. Give the visitor everything it wants. You’ll find that the visitor isn’t so bad, and everything it requests is what you’ve been longing to give. In time, you’ll realize the pain isn’t the visitors fault, and invite the visitor to stay; you’ll realize the difference between a bad experience and the reaction to it; you’ll distinguish the difference between the cut and the cause. It’s okay to feel bad. Hate the experience, not yourself. The visitor will become one of the most loved, important parts of your life..."

In chapter two, I wrote:

“…My thoughts were home inside. I could think anything and it was worthwhile—God doesn’t make junk thoughts. Previously shunned thoughts were gathered around the altar, like children during a Sunday Mass, and told they were valued and loved. I loved these thoughts more than any thought in my mind.”

The traumatized must understand that they were meant to be traumatized. In this way, they were called to be traumatized and to overcome it.

Don't focus on the inner world without respecting the outer. Clean up the inside by self honesty, and clean up the outer with a sincere days work and an act of kindness for a friend. Work for positive ideas within and constructive ideas in society. For this reason I say, improve yourself, improve the world!

You are a part of the world and the better you are the better the world will be. If people in charge have their act together, especially world leaders, the better we'll all be!

Seeing emotional trauma in connection to the wider world and even the universe is like a powerful energy source for the traumatized. Doing so provides purpose and meaning. I saw emotional trauma as a challenge from God. You can too. Your life has meaning because God is challenging you to become more by overcoming it. Emotional trauma can become one of the most important and positive aspects of your life, just like my emotional trauma became for me!