Fan me on FB: http://facebook.com/jodiamanlove
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/jodiaman
Find out about my online anxiety recovery program:
http://givefeartheboot.com
Read commentary of this podcast at http://jodiaman.com/ease-trauma-giving-back/ and add to the discussion!
Read an extended summary of this podcast here: http://jodiaman.tumblr.com/post/115316661734/ease-loss-and-trauma-by-giving-back
Creative, generous projects are healing
1. Creativity uses brain space.
Depression and anxiety need brain space to exist. They use your thoughts to breed more negativity and fear. If you were preoccupied with something purposeful and productive, there would be less time to feel down or afraid. Being creative needs loads of brain space because you are problem solving. This gets your frontal lobe working and heals the effects of loss and trauma on the brain.
2. Connecting with others makes you not feel so alone.
Isolation compounds any problem that you have, because the self only exists in relationships. And connecting to others eases our negative emotions. (Not abusive people.) Connecting heals the heart.
3. Giving back gives new meaning to a sad story.
When something happens, our mind want to makes sense of it. There are many tragedies that happened that make little sense. When something helpful comes out of it, a trauma or loss can have new meaning beside just senselessness. This can be powerfully healing. The person that is lost can now live on or the person who has been victimized has a purpose and identity beyond what happened.
Thank you so much for listening!
