Your story and experiences are unique to you, but there are people out there who have experienced similar traumas. Sometimes, it may feel as if you are alone and there is no one out there who could truly understand your experiences. This is why it is important to share your story—or as much of your story as you are comfortable with. There is always someone out there who thinks and feels similarly to you or has experienced a similar situation. They may need to see someone like them share their success, healing, or recovery story because they need that encouragement. If someone in a similar situation to theirs has successfully made it to the other side, then there is hope for them to do so as well. It is empowering and uplifting to have the affirmation that you are not alone in this world; someone else has been in your shoes or has hit rock bottom, but they have recovered and so can you.

We are human; we all want to have someone to confide in. We want someone who will be able to empathize with us and listen to our troubles. However, we can often feel like a burden when sharing our emotions and trauma to the people around us. Writing it down for others to read can give you the outlet to openly discuss your experiences without the weight of feeling like a burden. 

Writing or verbally telling your story can also give you a brand-new perspective on your trauma. You have to put your trauma into a timeline with context. Typically, traumatic experiences tend to haunt us sporadically rather than in an organized manner. Fragmented memories are triggered by scents or sounds or words. But as we delve deeper into our trauma and talk about it, we are able to recognize what exactly happened, how we reacted and felt in that moment, and how we continue to react and feel. We put reasoning behind our trauma, which can make it less daunting. Putting our trauma in a narrative allows us to find our trauma responses and heal.

There is also typically shame attached to your traumatic experiences. We are often told not to talk about it as it can be seen as taboo or “trauma dumping” or too heavy. Because of this, we tend to bottle up our emotions until we become a ticking time bomb ready to explode. However, when we’re able to tell our story and discuss our problems, we can find support from other people. This tends to make us less ashamed of our situation or even ourselves because now we’re getting the assurance that we are not our past. We are so much more than what has happened to us.

Another benefit of talking about your trauma is lessening its impact on our lives. We are used to suppressing our traumatic memories, but when we talk about them openly, we find ourselves becoming more accustomed to it. Yes, it may still make you upset, but it is possible to overcome that through the support systems we begin to build. We tend to find people who have experienced trauma that is similar to ours, and we confide in them. As we share our thoughts and feelings, we begin to realize that there are people like us who are doing amazing things despite their past. We then start to realize that we can also do amazing things, even though at one point it felt like we were being constantly held back by our trauma.

Telling your story gives you power over your trauma. The more you talk about it, the more you heal from it. You can also be the reason someone else feels less alone and ashamed of their trauma. We all need someone to lean on, even if we don’t personally know each other. We need the validation and assurance that we are not the only people who have been through these sorrows. Never be afraid to tell your story, and never let anyone silence you. Your story is yours to tell, and only you get to determine when to tell it and who gets to hear it.