Caring for yourself is often challenging for people who have experienced complex trauma including childhood trauma and abuse. That’s because you were harmed by another person. Sometimes it was done on purpose. At other times it happened because the other person had their own issues which stopped them caring for you.
When an adult neglects, hits, insults, abuses or ignores a child, the child starts to believe that they aren’t worth much. Often this happens time and again. This often means that the child grows up believing that they don’t deserve to be loved or cared for – that they are unlovable or worthless.
The adult, who that child becomes, can feel worthless too. Learning to care for yourself if you are survivor, means seeing yourself in a new way. It means seeing yourself as a person who deserves to feel comfortable, safe and worthwhile.
You don’t have to do anything complicated to care for yourself. You can do very simple things, whatever you can manage. It’s good to try to do one or two caring things for yourself each day.
