66 Trauma Quotes To Help Emotional Healing & Recovery

I have rounded up the best trauma quotes and sayings that will provide insight and encouragement, and serve as a reminder that survivors are not alone in their struggles.

Going through stressful, frightening, and distressing events is sometimes called trauma.

Trauma quotes are statements that help to articulate and validate the feelings of those who have experienced traumatic events in life.

Trauma is an experience that can have a profound impact on a person’s life. It can leave emotional and psychological scars that may last for years, even a lifetime.

It can be caused by a wide range of events, from physical or emotional abuse to natural disasters, accidents, or the death of a loved one.

Coping with trauma is a challenging process, but it is possible to heal and move forward with life.

Also See: Upset Quotes

Trauma can have a profound impact on an individual’s life, often leading to a range of negative physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms. 

These changes may include symptoms such as anxiety, depression, anger, and irritability, as well as changes in behavior, relationships, and worldview.

For those who have not experienced trauma, these meaningful quotes can help to build empathy and encourage greater support and awareness of the issue.

Trauma Quotes To Help You Understand Better

  1. “Trauma can have a masking effect.” – Asa Don Brown                                                                                                              trauma response quotes
  2. “When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear.” – Mark Twain
  3. “I wish my head could forget what my eyes have seen.” – Dave Parnell                                                                                        past trauma quotes
  4. “Trauma comes back as a Reaction, not a Memory.” – Bessel Van Der Kolk                                                                                    trauma quotes
  5. “I think it’s difficult to forget things that are unresolved.” – Chris Van Allsburg
  6. “Trauma is hell on earth. Trauma resolved is a gift from the Gods.” – Peter A. Levine                                                                Quotes On Trauma
  7. “Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.” – Peter A. Levine                                                      Quotes About Trauma
  8. “If you never heal from what hurt you, then you’ll bleed on people who did not cut you.” – Unknown                                                                                                                                                                                      trauma quotes images
  9. “Unlike other forms of psychological disorders, the core issue in trauma is reality.” – Bessel A. van der Kolk
  10. “Delusional pain hurts just as much as pain from actual trauma. So what if it’s all in your head?” – Octavia E. Butler
  11. “Traumatic experiences in early childhood may interfere with the child’s ability to securely attach.” – Asa Don Brown
  12. “The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.” – Peter A. Levine
  13. “There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” – Laurell K. Hamilton                                                                                                                                                quotes about childhood trauma
  14. “Most people have no imagination. If they could imagine the sufferings of others, they would not make them suffer so.” – Anna Funder
  15. “Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood, and untreated cause of human suffering.” – Peter Levine
  16. “A lot of people who have experienced trauma at the hands of people they’ve trusted take responsibility, and that is what’s toxic.” – Hannah Gadsby
  17. “Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard only by the one held captive.” – Danielle Bernock
  18. “Childhood trauma can range from having faced extreme violence and neglect to having confronted feelings of not belonging, being unwanted, or being chronically misunderstood.” – Arielle Schwartz
  19. “Our brain and body become addicted to the feelings associated with our trauma and our worst day because they have been firing more than any other feeling.” – Kenny Weiss, Your Journey To Success

Quotes About Childhood Trauma And Healing

Healing from trauma involves reclaiming a sense of safety, stability, and control in one’s life.

Also See: Healing Quotes

This can be an empowering process, allowing individuals to move beyond the effects of past childhood trauma and towards a more fulfilling life.

  1. “What we change inwardly will change outer reality.” – Plutarch
  2. “Hold yourself back, or heal yourself back together. You decide.” – Brittany Burgunder
  3. “Would they be cheered by their recovery, or marked for life by their trauma?” – Dan Wells
  4. “Wounds won’t heal the way you want them to, they heal the way they need to.” – Dele Olanubi
  5. “You don’t have to preserve your pain in order to prove that it was real.” – Brittany Burgunder
  6. “Heartache purged layers of baggage I didn’t know I carried. Gifts hide under the layers of grief.” – Shauna L Hoey
  7. “Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose.” – Michelle Rosenthal
  8. “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.” – Joubert Botha
  9. “I’m still coping with my trauma, but coping by trying to find different ways to heal it rather than hide it.” – Clemantine Wamariya
  10. “To live in the body of a survivor is to never be able to leave the scene of the crime. I cannot ignore the fact that I live here.” – Blythe Baird
  11. “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” – Unknown
  12. “Your external world mirrors your internal state. Heal the parts of you that need your attention or you will forever live out your pain for all to see.” – Dana Hall LCPC
  13. “When we become an expert in our trauma history and know how we self-victimize and drop into denial, we have an opportunity to create a new reality with a new neural pathway in our brain.” – Kenny Weiss
  14. “Healing from trauma can also mean strength and joy. The goal of healing is not a papering-over of changes in an effort to preserve or present things as normal. It is to acknowledge and wear your new life – warts, wisdom, and all – with courage.” – Catherine Woodiwiss
  15. “Even in times of trauma, we try to maintain a sense of normality until we no longer can. That, my friends, is called surviving. Not healing. We never become whole again-we are survivors. If you are here today, you are a survivor. But those of us who have made it through hell and are still standing? We bear a different name: warriors.” – Lori Goodwin

PTSD Quotes to Help Survivors Cope with Trauma

The effects of trauma can be complex and varied, and can manifest in a wide range of symptoms and behaviors, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and self-harm.

Trauma can also have physical effects, such as chronic pain, fatigue, and autoimmune disorders.

These quotes will help to normalize the experiences of survivors and offer a sense of hope and comfort.

  1. “Your trauma does not define You, but your survival does.” – Trisha.J                                                                              emotional trauma quotes
  2. “Don’t let the traumas of the past haunt your future. Let go, heal, and move on.” – Trisha.J
  3. “Surviving a trauma is like healing a wound. The pain goes away, but the scar remains.” – Trisha.J                                                  recovery trauma quotes
  4. “Childhood traumas are just a chapter of your life, not your book of life.” – T.J
  5. “Post-traumatic stress injury isn’t a disease. It’s a wound to the soul that never heals.” – Tom Glenn                                                                                                                                                                                                  overcoming trauma quotes
  6. “Instead of being ashamed of what you’ve been through, be proud of what you have overcome.” – Dr. Phil                                                                                                                                                                                                    healing trauma quotes
  7. “Punishing someone for PTSD is like punishing someone for cancer. The answer is love and protection.” – Unknown                                                                                                                                                                      PTSD Trauma Quotes
  8. “You wake up every morning to fight the same demons that left you so tired the night before, and that, my love, is bravery.” – Unknown                                                                                                                                        healing from trauma quotes
  9. “PTSD is a whole-body tragedy, an integral human event of enormous proportions with massive repercussions.” – Susan Pease Banitt
  10. “I did not ask for the things I’ve been through. And I certainly didn’t ask my mind to paint and repaint the pictures back in flashback form.” – Michelle Groth
  11. “When you’re going through these difficult times of chaos and trauma, the most important thing is to keep those who are closest to you together.” – Michael Imperioli
  12. “Always remember, if you have been diagnosed with PTSD, it is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is proof of your strength, because you have survived!” – Michel Templet
  13. “PTSD nightmares aren’t always exact replays of the event. Sometimes they replay the emotions you felt during the event, such as fear, helplessness, and sadness.” – Alice Cariv
  14. “After a traumatic experience, the human system of self-preservation seems to go onto permanent alert, as if the danger might return at any moment.” – Judith Lewis Herman
  15. “There is no timestamp on trauma. There isn’t a formula that you can insert yourself into to get from horror to healed. Be patient. Take up space. Let your journey be the balm.” – Dawn Serra
  16. “Repeated trauma requires you to create a system of defenses that protects you. And these protections were so important. They saved your life. They protected your real self.” – Gretchen L. Schmelzer
  17. “Someone who has experienced trauma also has gifts to offer all of us – in their depth, their knowledge of our universal vulnerability, and their experience of the power of compassion.” – Sharon Salzberg
  18. “You have to understand that PTSD has to be an event that you experience, a very traumatic event.” – Dale Archer

Sad Traumatic Quotes To Overcome It

Some quotes may be raw and unfiltered, reflecting the intense emotions and pain that often accompany trauma.

The impact of these comforting words is often transformative and unexpected in nature.

Others may be more reflective and philosophical, offering a broader perspective on the nature of trauma and the process of healing.

  1. “Being able to survive doesn’t mean it was ever okay.” – Unknown                                                                                                      surviving trauma quotes
  2. “I can’t apologize for the way my traumas have changed me.” – Unknown                                                                                    sad traumatic quotes
  3. “Your trauma is not your fault, but your healing is your responsibility.” – Unknown                                                                    childhood trauma quotes
  4. “It is only in sorrow bad weather masters us; in joy, we face the storm and defy it.” – Amelia Barr
  5. “A great loss brings up an emotional storm that opens up a hidden reservoir of childhood pain.” – Pete Walker
  6. “Traumatic stress can spread to anyone with whom the sufferers share their lives. Trauma begets trauma.” – Shaili Jain
  7. “I won’t let pain, turn my heart into something ugly. I will show you that surviving can be beautiful.” – Christy Ann Martine                                                                                                                                                          positive trauma quotes
  8. “When people have been traumatized, they are stuck in paralysis-the immobility reaction or abrupt explosions of rage.” – Peter A. Levine
  9. “Our brains are wired for connection, but trauma rewires them for protection. That’s why healthy relationships are difficult for wounded people.” – Ryan North                                                                                                          trauma recovery quotes
  10. “Am I awake or dreaming? It doesn’t matter anymore. When I close my eyes I dream of death and war. When I open my eyes I see death and war.” – Michael Anthony
  11. “Trauma fractures comprehension as a pebble shatters a windshield.” – Jane Leavy
  12. “This version of me wasn’t built overnight. This is experience. This is pain. This is insecurities. This is abuse. This is depression. I had to go through things to get to the level I’m at now.” – Unknown
  13. “A note to anyone who needs to hear it: We don’t “get over” or “move on” from our trauma. We are forced to make space for it. We carry it. We learn to live with it. And, sometimes we thrive in spite of it.” – Unknown
  14. “Some of us have been through things so traumatic that the human mind isn’t built to handle but we fight and persevere every single day and night. If that’s not strength I don’t what is. You are a survivor.” – Unknown
  15. “A trigger is anything that sets you off emotionally and activates memories of your trauma. It’s particular to you and what your experience has been. Triggered, we revert to the feelings and behaviors we had in the traumatizing situation.” – Unknown
  16. “A girl who has lived through trauma has lived through a situation where her body, her mind, her self was not her own. Where she felt disjointed, ripped from herself, safety, and sanity. It was a moment, an experience, a something where her trust was smashed, her worth was gone and all there was pain.” – Unknown

 

Overall, trauma quotes address the importance of dealing with this issue with care and compassion.

Whether you are a survivor yourself or seeking to support someone who has experienced trauma, these quotes can be a valuable resource for fostering healing and resilience.

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In many cases, quotes about trauma can serve as a starting point for deeper reflection and understanding.

They may provide a new perspective or offer a sense of clarity that helps individuals begin to process their experiences in a meaningful way.

Ultimately, quotes about trauma can help individuals find strength, courage, and hope as they navigate the path to healing.

If we have missed some quotes, share them with us in the comment section below and we shall be happy to add them to the list.

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