How to Overcome Emotional Trauma

Has a painful childhood or life experience left you feeling broken? You CAN heal and take back your life! Learn how to overcome emotional trauma with help from God’s Word.

READING TIME: 4 MINUTES

You let it define you.

Not intentionally or all at once.

But over time.

The emotional trauma you experienced when a painful life circumstance took place may have been a one-time event or recurring over a period of years. Maybe it was the way your dad left your family and never came back. Or the loss of a loved one at a tender time in your life. Or maybe it was physical or emotional abuse. Either way, it left a mark. And you can’t seem to shake it.

As long as you tolerate lingering symptoms of emotional trauma, you’re allowing the enemy to keep you shackled. Just like Jesus did for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, He wants to loose you from your shackles and set you free. He wants to remove all evidence of the trauma you’ve experienced, so you can live a life of abundance.

Is there an experience you’ve allowed to define you? Do the effects and hurts seem to follow you everywhere you go?

Emotional traumas can include:
Rejection, neglect, criticism or abuse as a child
Experiencing a broken home as a child
Divorce
Betrayal
Loss of a family member
Extreme financial pressure or loss.

And that’s just for starters! No matter what you may have endured, emotional trauma is not a life sentence. You can take back your life and heal! Learn how to overcome emotional trauma. with help from God’s Word. Here’s where to start.

1. Be Willing to Overcome Emotional Trauma

A wealthy businessman and minister told a story of a time when he was in an accident where he endured third-degree burns all over his body. He was in excruciating pain, and the path to recovery required weeks in the hospital.

The treatment included cleaning the burns, which covered more than 60% of his body, and removing dead skin and tissue from the area—all of which was extremely painful. This had to be repeated over and over until the skin began to heal properly.

He remembers, “It was so painful, I could hardly stand it. But I knew if I didn’t allow them to clean the wounds, I would end up with a lifetime of debilitating problems.”

Overcoming physical trauma can be very painful. Emotional trauma is the same. But just like physical healing, emotional healing requires short-term discomfort for long-term health and happiness.

Willingness to overcome trauma may seem obvious, but many people are unknowingly hesitant. They may think they want to be delivered and set free, but something on the inside of them causes them to hold on to the hurt and pain.

It isn’t easy sorting through deep-rooted pain. In some ways, it can feel like living it all over again. But here’s something you need to remember: Jesus is the Healer. He bore all your pain—physical and emotional—on the Cross, so you could live a life of freedom. If you allow Him to treat your wounds, you’ll live a life you never dreamed possible. (Find A Prayer for a Fresh Start HERE.)

2. Stop the Blame Game

While there is no denying that the words and behaviors of others can cause pain, at some point, we each have to take responsibility for our own lives. Blame leaves others in the driver’s seat of your life. To take back your life, stop the blame game and take ownership of how you approach life and what feelings you allow to have influence over your decisions. Consider some of the common responses to emotional trauma:

Guilt
Shame
Anger
Fear
Grief
Depression
Rejection
Feelings of inadequacy
Defensiveness
Criticism of others

These do not have to be your lot in life. God said He wants you to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). Jesus bore every one of those symptoms, so you could live free. In Christ, we are not victims. In Him, we are no longer powerless. Through His power, authority, grace and mercy, we are victorious overcomers. Hallelujah!

Watch Gloria Copeland teach you how to overcome guilt and shame.

And it all starts with making a decision to stop the blame game and take back your life.

If any of the above symptoms have dominated your thinking and living, it’s time to make a change. Take personal responsibility for your behaviors. You cannot blame your fears, insecurities, negative attitude, failures, anger or any other behavior on anyone but you.

Go to Jesus and let Him take every negative feeling off your shoulders and out of your life forever. Allow Him to wash away the past and bring you into a glorious future!

3. Forgive

You knew it was coming.

Whether we like to hear it or not, there is no path to the good life when unforgiveness looms in the distance. You may feel justified holding onto grudges but trust us—you’re only hurting yourself.

Unforgiveness blocks every good thing.

It isn’t worth it. And it won’t change anything or anyone.

Think it’s too hard to forgive?

You’re right.

On your own, it is too hard. That’s why God has said He’ll make the impossible possible for us when we ask Him for help. He commanded you to forgive—He’ll equip you and strengthen you to forgive by faith. If you submit to Him, ask for His help, and make a firm, no-turning-back decision to forgive, one day as if out of nowhere, you’ll say, “I really have forgiven.”

4. Fill the Void

If fear, anger, insecurity or any other response to emotional trauma has been part of your life for a long period of time, as you work to remove those harmful feelings and habits, you need to also fill the void.

It isn’t enough to just say, “I won’t fear anymore.” You have to take two steps:

Resist fear.
Replace a spirit of fear with strong faith.

You can’t just say, “I won’t criticize others anymore.” You have to:

See yourself the way God sees you and receive His love.
Stop criticizing yourself.
Look for the best in others.

As you find your identity in Christ and grow your relationship with God, you will find yourself driving out every sign of emotional trauma. (Try A Confession to Overcome Emotional Trauma HERE.)

When you take back your life with these ways to overcome emotional trauma, you’ll wish you would’ve pursued deliverance sooner! When God heals your hurts, no one will ever guess you’ve had a hardship in your life because you’ll be so full of faith, hope, joy, peace and love. You may have went through the fire, but like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you will come out without even smelling like smoke!

Watch Gloria Copeland teach you how to replace fear with faith.